Stockholm Colloquium in Philosophy: Marion Kathe Godman (Aarhus)

Identity or Inductive potential? Human categories in the cross-roads.

Föreläsning

Datum:

torsdag 3 april 2025

Tid:

16.00 – 17.45

Plats:

B497

Abstract

When we study and learn about people and especially by the use of statistical bureaus (e.g. Statistics Sweden/SCB) and social science we face a choice about what categories to use for data collection: should we for example collect data in terms of people’s ethnic or in terms of immigrant origin?

I have previously argued (2020) that one important criterion is to choose categories which display inductive potential, i.e. they license multiple inductive generalizations over members of a group that can be used for comparisons between groups.

Moreover, I argued that a prominent reason for social categories (or kinds of people) displaying such inductive potential is that they are historical kinds (Millikan 2000).

Here I respond to some worries that have and can be raised about applying such criteria to categories for research and data collection. In the process I make the notion of inductive potential more precise and also discuss its application to some commonly used categories of social class.