Episode 163: Guest Stewart Umphrey on Natural Kinds (Part Two)

Summary: Continuing our interview about Natural Kinds and Genesis: The Classification of Material Entities. Now we get down to it: Given the argument for continuants in part 1, Stewart talks about how that founds the idea of a natural kind (the nature of a continuant) and considers what might count as one. Should the fact that there are borderline cases, i.e., vagueness in a concept, mean that that concept can't name a natural kind? Can the sciences just tell us what the natural kinds are?<br> Buy Stewart's book at <a href="http://www.rowman.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.rowman.com</a> and use the code LEX30AUTH17 to get 30% off your order.<br> Listen to <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2017/05/01/ep163-1-stewart-umphrey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">part 1</a> first or get the ad-free <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2017/04/29/ep163-stewart-umphrey-citizen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Citizen Edition</a>.<br> End song: "Destroy the Box" by Wertico, Cain and Gray from Organic Architecture (2014). Hear Paul Wertico and David Cain interviewed on <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2016/12/04/nem30-paul-wertico-david-cain-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nakedly Examined Music #30</a>.<br> Check out the St. John's College Graduate Institute: <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/sjcgi" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">partiallyexaminedlife.com/sjcgi</a>. Visit <a href="http://talkspace.com/examined" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Talkspace.com/examined</a>; use code "EXAMINED" for 30% off your first month of online therapy.<br>