From: jimruttshow8596
The notion of essence has become highly contentious in modern culture [00:02:27]. This stems from an overemphasis on an idea articulated by Wittgenstein [00:02:33].
Wittgenstein’s Perspective
Wittgenstein observed that many human-formed categories lack an essence in the Aristotelian sense [00:02:37]. This means there isn’t a set of necessary and sufficient conditions shared by all members of the category [00:02:43]. His famous example is “game” – no single set of conditions applies to all games [00:02:47]. While this insight is valuable, it has been overinterpreted in modern culture to suggest that nothing possesses an essence [00:02:53].
Quine’s Counter-Argument and Scientific Essence
Philosopher Quine offered a counter-argument, suggesting that the primary task of science is precisely to discover those categories that do possess an essence [00:03:04].
For Quine, an essence isn’t something that can be defined a priori (before experience), except perhaps in mathematics, which is distinct from science [00:03:16]. Mathematics operates as a closed system of axioms and mechanical manipulations, unlike empirical science [00:03:26].
Quine argued that essences are categories that support the broadest possible explanatory generalizations [00:03:41]. When science takes a sample, it looks for properties that generalize widely to the larger world [00:04:05]. The more generalizable these properties are, the closer science gets to uncovering important aspects of the nature of reality [00:04:12].
Example: Gold
Gold serves as a concrete example [00:04:18]. Its atomic weight, density, and other properties remain constant regardless of where or when it is found [00:04:21]. This stability across contexts indicates an essential property.
Systematic Import (J.S. Mill)
J.S. Mill introduced the concept of “systematic import” to differentiate between explanatory and non-explanatory generalizations [00:04:48].
- Horses vs. White Things:
- Learning about a particular horse provides knowledge that largely transfers to other horses, enabling generalizations for medicine or training [00:05:05]. This knowledge has “systematic import.”
- In contrast, “white things” is a true generalization (white things exist), but learning about one white thing tells you nothing explanatory about another, beyond the fact that it is white [00:05:22]. It lacks “systematic import.”
Categories with essences, supporting explanatory generalizations, possess three key properties [00:05:43]:
- Homogeneous: All members share the properties [00:05:50].
- Stable: The properties are not constantly shifting or changing [00:05:57].
- Intrinsic: The properties belong to the thing itself, regardless of human observation or conception (e.g., horses would exist even without humans, unlike money) [00:06:01].
Relevance and Essence
The concept of “relevance” does not possess a scientific essence [00:06:54].
- Things deemed “relevant” do not share a homogeneous set of properties with systematic import [00:06:17]. Relevance can be due to size, speed, proximity, or even a fleeting state like hunger [00:06:29].
- Relevance is not stable; something can be relevant one moment and irrelevant the next [00:06:42].
- Relevance is not intrinsic; it makes no sense to speak of things being relevant when no organisms are present in the environment [00:06:49].
Therefore, relevance is not something the brain “discovers” in the world, but rather an outcome of a process [00:07:07]. This leads to an analogy with Darwinian fittedness, which also lacks an essence because the environment is dynamically complex and constantly changing [00:07:41]. Darwin proposed a universal process (evolution by natural selection) by which fittedness is continually redefined and redesigned [00:08:31]. Similarly, relevance realization is a process that constantly evolves [00:09:00]. This process is a key tool in human cognition for navigating a “combinatorically explosive and constantly changing world” [00:09:35].
The discussion regarding essence and scientific categorization ties into the broader theme of metaphysics and its relation to scientific concepts and the idea that humans need to distinguish between what is culturally useful and what is metaphysically true [00:19:18]. The importance of complexity science and emergentism is also highlighted, as modern science offers a multi-level understanding of reality where categories are dynamic and evolving [01:06:02]. The integration of complexity theory and dynamical systems theory is seen as central to a more complete nomological order, especially through cognitive science [00:39:02].