Nicola Carraro
Discipline:
Philosophy
Institution:
University of Campinas
Project Title:
Essence and Natural Kinds in Aristotle’s Biology
Project Abstract:
I will investigate the role of natural kinds in scientific explanations within Aristotle’s biology. I will offer an interpretation of the method to identify natural kinds described in On the Parts of Animals I, and proceed to verify how the method is applied in the remaining books of the treatise. My aim is to show that, contrarily to what is often thought, Aristotle has a systematic and coherent view on how to mark off kinds and discover their essence, and that this view matches his actual biological practice.
