Real Essentialism (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy, Vol. 11)

Real Essentialism presents a comprehensive defence of neo-Aristotelian essentialism. Do objects have essences? Must they be the kinds of things they are in spite of the changes they undergo? Can we know what things are really like — can we define and classify reality? Many if not most philosophers doubt this, influenced by centuries of empiricism, and by the anti-essentialism of Wittgenstein, Quine, Popper, and other thinkers. Real Essentialism reinvigorates the tradition of realist, essentialist metaphysics, defending the reality and knowability of essence, the possibility of objective, immutable definition, and its relevance to contemporary scientific and metaphysical issues such as whether essence transcends physics and chemistry, the essence of life, the nature of biological species, and the nature of the person. Contemporary Essentialism And Real Essentialism -- Against Modalism : Possible Worlds -- Against Modalism : Fine's Critique -- Reductionism : The Illusory Search For Inner Constitution -- Why Real Essentialism? -- Some Varieties Of Anti-essentialism -- Empiricist Anti-essentialism -- Quinean Animadversions -- Popper : Avoiding 'what-is?' Questions -- Wittgenstein : The Shadow Of Grammar -- The Reality And Knowability Of Essence -- Why Essences Are Real -- The 'problem Of The Universal Accidental -- An Empirical Test For Essence? -- Coming To Know Essence -- 'paradigms', 'stereotypes', And Classification -- The Structure Of Essence -- Hylemorphism : Act And Potency -- Substantial Form -- Prime Matter -- Substance -- The Immanence Of Essence -- Essence And Identity -- Real Definition And The True Law Of Identity -- The Porphyrian Tree -- The Analogy Of Being -- Individuation -- Identity Over Time -- Essence And Existence -- The Real Distinction In Contingent Beings -- Everything Is Contingent, Almost -- Powers -- Laws Of Nature -- Aspects Of Essence -- Kinds Of Accident -- The Nature Of Properties -- Knowledge Of Essence Via Properties -- Artefacts -- Origin And Constitution -- Life -- The Essence Of Life -- Kinds Of Organism -- Against Emergence -- Species, Biological And Metaphysical -- Is Biological Essentialism Dead? -- Against The Cladistic Species Concept -- Vagueness -- A Plea For Morphology -- The Person -- The Essence Of Personhood -- Hylemorphic Dualism -- Consciousness, Psychology, And The Person -- Form, Body, And Soul -- Soul, Intellect, And Immateriality -- Soul, Identity, And Material Dependence. David S. Oderberg. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [295]-308) And Index. Content: Contemporary essentialism and real essentialism -- Against modalism : possible worlds -- Against modalism : Fine's critique -- Reductionism : the illusory search for inner constitution -- Why real essentialism? -- Some varieties of anti-essentialism -- Empiricist anti-essentialism -- Quinean animadversions -- Popper : avoiding 'what-is?' questions -- Wittgenstein : the shadow of grammar -- The reality and knowability of essence -- Why essences are real -- The 'problem of the universal accidental -- An empirical test for essence? -- Coming to know essence -- 'Paradigms', 'stereotypes', and classification -- The structure of essence -- Hylemorphism : act and potency -- Substantial form -- Prime matter -- Substance -- The immanence of essence -- Essence and identity -- Real definition and the true law of identity -- The Porphyrian tree -- The analogy of being -- Individuation -- Identity over time -- Essence and existence -- The real distinction in contingent beings -- Everything is contingent, almost -- Powers -- Laws of nature -- Aspects of essence -- Kinds of accident -- The nature of properties -- Knowledge of essence via properties -- Artefacts -- Origin and constitution -- Life -- The essence of life -- Kinds of organism -- Against emergence -- Species, biological and metaphysical -- Is biological essentialism dead? -- Against the cladistic species concept -- Vagueness -- A plea for morphology -- The person -- The essence of personhood -- Hylemorphic dualism -- Consciousness, psychology, and the person -- Form, body, and soul -- Soul, intellect, and immateriality -- Soul, identity, and material dependence. Title 6 Copyright 7 Contents 8 List of illustrations 10 Preface 11 Acknowledgements 14 Chapter 1 Contemporary essentialism and real essentialism 16 Chapter 2 Some varieties of anti-essentialism 36 Chapter 3 The reality and knowability of essence 59 Chapter 4 The structure of essence 77 Chapter 5 Essence and identity 101 Chapter 6 Essence and existence 136 Chapter 7 Aspects of essence 167 Chapter 8 Life 192 Chapter 9 Species, biological and metaphysical 216 Chapter 10 The person 256 Notes 276 Bibliography 310 Index 324