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Real Essentialism defends the metaphysical position that everything in the world has an essence or nature that fixes its identity. Although a traditional view in philosophy, defended most famously by Aristotle, scepticism about and hostility to the notion of essence in modern and contemporary philosophy are a commonplace. Recent work in logic and philosophy of language has given essentialism a new life, but Real Essentialism argues that it has still not been given the contemporary defence it requires. It sets out a full theory of essence and applies it to such questions as the nature of species, the nature of life and the essence of the person.

1 Contemporary essentialism and real essentialism 1.1 Against modalism: possible worlds 1 1.2 Against modalism: Fine’s critique 7 1.3 Reductionism: the illusory search for inner constitution 12 1.4 Why real essentialism? 18 2 Some varieties of anti-essentialism 2.1 Empiricist anti-essentialism 21 2.2 Quinean animadversions 25 2.3 Popper: avoiding ‘what-is?’ questions 30 2.4 Wittgenstein: the shadow of grammar 38 3 The reality and knowability of essence 3.1 Why essences are real 44 3.2 The ‘problem’ of the universal accidental 47 3.3 An empirical test for essence? 52 3.4 Coming to know essence 54 3.5 ‘Paradigms’, ‘stereotypes’, and classification 57 4 The structure of essence 4.1 Hylemorphism: act and potency 62 4.2 Substantial form 65 4.3 Prime matter 71 4.4 Substance 76 4.5 The immanence of essence 81 5 Essence and identity 5.1 Real definition and the true law of identity 86 5.2 The Porphyrian Tree 92 5.3 The Analogy of Being 105 5.4 Individuation 108 5.5 Identity over time 117 6 Essence and existence 6.1 The real distinction in contingent beings 121 6.2 Everything is contingent . ... almost 125 6.3 Powers 130 6.4 Laws of nature 143 7 Aspects of essence 7.1 Kinds of accident 152 7.2 The nature of properties 156 7.3 Knowledge of essence via properties 162 7.4 Artefacts 166 7.5 Origin and constitution 170 8 Life 8.1 The essence of life 177 8.2 Kinds of organism 183 8.3 Against emergence 193 9 Species, biological and metaphysical 9.1 Is biological essentialism dead? 201 9.2 Against the cladistic species concept 214 9.3 Vagueness 224 9.4 A plea for morphology 234 10 The person 10.1 The essence of personhood 241 10.2 Hylemorphic dualism 243 10.3 Consciousness, psychology, and the person 245 10.4 Form, body, and soul 248 10.5 Soul, intellect, and immateriality 250 10.6 Soul, identity, and material dependence 255 10.7 Conclusion 259

1 Contemporary essentialism and real essentialism 1 1.1 Against modalism: possible worlds 1 1.2 Against modalism: Fine’s critique 7 1.3 Reductionism: the illusory search for inner constitution 12 1.4 Why real essentialism? 18 2 Some varieties of anti-essentialism 21 2.1 Empiricist anti-essentialism 21 2.2 Quinean animadversions 25 2.3 Popper: avoiding ‘what-is?’ questions 30 2.4 Wittgenstein: the shadow of grammar 38 3 The reality and knowability of essence 44 3.1 Why essences are real 44 3.2 The ‘problem’ of the universal accidental 47 3.3 An empirical test for essence? 52 3.4 Coming to know essence 54 3.5 ‘Paradigms’, ‘stereotypes’, and classification 57 4 The structure of essence 62 4.1 Hylemorphism: act and potency 62 4.2 Substantial form 65 4.3 Prime matter 71 4.4 Substance 76 4.5 The immanence of essence 81 5 Essence and identity 86 5.1 Real definition and the true law of identity 86

1 Contemporary essentialism and real essentialism 1 1.1 Against modalism: possible worlds 1 1.2 Against modalism: Fine’s critique 7 1.3 Reductionism: the illusory search for inner constitution 12 1.4 Why real essentialism? 18 2 Some varieties of anti-essentialism 21 2.1 Empiricist anti-essentialism 21 2.2 Quinean animadversions 25 2.3 Popper: avoiding ‘what-is?’ questions 30 2.4 Wittgenstein: the shadow of grammar 38 3 The reality and knowability of essence 44 3.1 Why essences are real 44 3.2 The ‘problem’ of the universal accidental 47 3.3 An empirical test for essence? 52 3.4 Coming to know essence 54 3.5 ‘Paradigms’, ‘stereotypes’, and classification 57 4 The structure of essence 62 4.1 Hylemorphism: act and potency 62 4.2 Substantial form 65 4.3 Prime matter 71 4.4 Substance 76 4.5 The immanence of essence 81 5 Essence and identity 86 5.1 Real definition and the true law of identity 86

1 Contemporary essentialism and real essentialism 1 1.1 Against modalism: possible worlds 1 1.2 Against modalism: Fine’s critique 7 1.3 Reductionism: the illusory search for inner constitution 12 1.4 Why real essentialism? 18 2 Some varieties of anti-essentialism 21 2.1 Empiricist anti-essentialism 21 2.2 Quinean animadversions 25 2.3 Popper: avoiding ‘what-is?’ questions 30 2.4 Wittgenstein: the shadow of grammar 38 3 The reality and knowability of essence 44 3.1 Why essences are real 44 3.2 The ‘problem’ of the universal accidental 47 3.3 An empirical test for essence? 52 3.4 Coming to know essence 54 3.5 ‘Paradigms’, ‘stereotypes’, and classification 57 4 The structure of essence 62 4.1 Hylemorphism: act and potency 62 4.2 Substantial form 65 4.3 Prime matter 71 4.4 Substance 76 4.5 The immanence of essence 81 5 Essence and identity 86 5.1 Real definition and the true law of identity 86

1 Contemporary essentialism and real essentialism 1.1 Against modalism: possible worlds 1 1.2 Against modalism: Fine’s critique 7 1.3 Reductionism: the illusory search for inner constitution 12 1.4 Why real essentialism? 18 2 Some varieties of anti-essentialism 2.1 Empiricist anti-essentialism 21 2.2 Quinean animadversions 25 2.3 Popper: avoiding ‘what-is?’ questions 30 2.4 Wittgenstein: the shadow of grammar 38 3 The reality and knowability of essence 3.1 Why essences are real 44 3.2 The ‘problem’ of the universal accidental 47 3.3 An empirical test for essence? 52 3.4 Coming to know essence 54 3.5 ‘Paradigms’, ‘stereotypes’, and classification 57 4 The structure of essence 4.1 Hylemorphism: act and potency 62 4.2 Substantial form 65 4.3 Prime matter 71 4.4 Substance 76 4.5 The immanence of essence 81 5 Essence and identity 5.1 Real definition and the true law of identity 86 5.2 The Porphyrian Tree 92 5.3 The Analogy of Being 105 5.4 Individuation 108 5.5 Identity over time 117 6 Essence and existence 6.1 The real distinction in contingent beings 121 6.2 Everything is contingent . ... almost 125 6.3 Powers 130 6.4 Laws of nature 143 7 Aspects of essence 7.1 Kinds of accident 152 7.2 The nature of properties 156 7.3 Knowledge of essence via properties 162 7.4 Artefacts 166 7.5 Origin and constitution 170 8 Life 8.1 The essence of life 177 8.2 Kinds of organism 183 8.3 Against emergence 193 9 Species, biological and metaphysical 9.1 Is biological essentialism dead? 201 9.2 Against the cladistic species concept 214 9.3 Vagueness 224 9.4 A plea for morphology 234 10 The person 10.1 The essence of personhood 241 10.2 Hylemorphic dualism 243 10.3 Consciousness, psychology, and the person 245 10.4 Form, body, and soul 248 10.5 Soul, intellect, and immateriality 250 10.6 Soul, identity, and material dependence 255 10.7 Conclusion 259

Real Essentialism defends the metaphysical position that everything in the world has an essence or nature that fixes its identity. Although a traditional view in philosophy, defended most famously by Aristotle, scepticism about and hostility to the notion of essence in modern and contemporary philosophy are a commonplace. Recent work in logic and philosophy of language has given essentialism a new life, but Real Essentialism argues that it has still not been given the contemporary defence it requires. It sets out a full theory of essence and applies it to such questions as the nature of species, the nature of life and the essence of the person.

1 Contemporary essentialism and real essentialism 1 1.1 Against modalism: possible worlds 1 1.2 Against modalism: Fine’s critique 7 1.3 Reductionism: the illusory search for inner constitution 12 1.4 Why real essentialism? 18 2 Some varieties of anti-essentialism 21 2.1 Empiricist anti-essentialism 21 2.2 Quinean animadversions 25 2.3 Popper: avoiding ‘what-is?’ questions 30 2.4 Wittgenstein: the shadow of grammar 38 3 The reality and knowability of essence 44 3.1 Why essences are real 44 3.2 The ‘problem’ of the universal accidental 47 3.3 An empirical test for essence? 52 3.4 Coming to know essence 54 3.5 ‘Paradigms’, ‘stereotypes’, and classification 57 4 The structure of essence 62 4.1 Hylemorphism: act and potency 62 4.2 Substantial form 65 4.3 Prime matter 71 4.4 Substance 76 4.5 The immanence of essence 81 5 Essence and identity 86 5.1 Real definition and the true law of identity 86