2025/12/01 by Lodi Nauta
#classification #essence #natural kinds #species #taxonomy
paper · doi:10.25894/jmp.2784
Locke famously wrote that ‘Men make sorts of Things’ by which he is often taken to mean that people rather than nature divide up the world into species: real essences or inner structures of things do not determine the boundaries of species; species are made by us when we select a set of qualities which we regard as essential for species-membership. In recent scholarship this reading has been questioned. According to these scholars, Locke is a realist, who assumes the existence of real essences shared between individuals of the same species. These shared essences can explain why we see stable, well-delineated and objective differences and similarities in nature. This paper argues that this recent line of interpretation weakens the radical nature of Locke’s central message. It defends a conventionalist interpretation, arguing that on Locke’s own understanding of essence, species, and classification, he cannot be a realist about natural kinds.