On Thu, Jun 10, 2010 at 2:55 PM, Richard Pyle deepreef@bishopmuseum.org wrote:

Hmm...not sure I agree.  At the moment that spcific atom is part of the ant, then it seems to me that it is also part of Formicidae.  It gets weird, though, because atoms enter and leave the circumscribed individual ant over time, whereas the abstract notion of "the ant" stays the same from its birth to its death.  But then again, if Formicidae is circumscribed by its member individual ants, then these individual ants then enter and leave the circumscription (when they are born or conceived, and when they die).

I don't think it's enough to say "is circumscribed by its member individual ants." You have to also state the basis of that circumscription, as it obviously can't just be by enumeration. For example, I think it would be fair to say that in order to be a member of Formicidae, an entity must be an ant (there may be other, better criteria, but you get the idea). That's why I say that a specimen is the ultimate circumscription, at least of the taxonomic kind.

An atom isn't a kind of ant, but an ant has an atom. Inheritance vs. composition.

///ark