Natural Kinds as Homeorhetic Dynamic Systems

hilosophers have become increasingly aware of the difficulties that plague accounts of kinds with objectively determined boundaries, and generally recognise that scientific taxonomies are shaped by human prag- matic interests and non-epistemic values. Against this trend, we propose an account of kinds conceived as dynamic entities, characterised by qualitatively distinct and robust trajectories originating from bifurcation events in the development of complex systems. We argue that the Homeorhetic Dynamic Kinds account (HDK) can be applied to systems investigated in a variety of disciplinary contexts, ranging from biology, medicine, and the social sci- ences. Shifting the focus from a synchronic (homeostatic) to a dynamic and processual (homeorhetic) perspective, we show that HDK allows a better characterisation of discontinuities among kinds. We then outline its implica- tions for pluralism, particularly how HDK can help us to understand how scientific categories are shaped both by ontological aspects of developmental trajectories and by pragmatic, value-laden considerations