Pluto and the Platypus or: The Role of Classificatory Norms1
نویسنده
چکیده
Many astronomers seem to believe that we have discovered that Pluto is not a planet. But this is not so. Recent discoveries of trans-Neptunian Pluto-sized objects do not militate for Pluto’s expulsion from the planets unless we have prior reason for not simply counting these newly-discovered objects among the planets. I argue that this classificatory controversy — which I compare to the controversy about the classification of the platypus — illustrates how our classificatory practices are “norm-laden”. I conclude with a discussion of the relevance of norm-ladenness to other controversies in the metaphysics of classification, such as the monism/pluralism debate.
منابع مشابه
Pluto and the platypus: An odd ball and an odd duck - On classificatory norms.
Many astronomers seem to believe that we have discovered that Pluto is not a planet. I contest this assessment. Recent discoveries of trans-Neptunian Pluto-sized objects do not militate for Pluto's expulsion from the planets unless we have prior reason for not simply counting these newly-discovered objects among the planets. I argue that this classificatory controversy - which I compare to the ...
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