Biological taxon names are descriptive names

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Science
• Biological Taxonomy
• Philosophy of Language

Background:

• The causal-historical theory of reference is commonly applied to biological nomenclature.
• This theory posits that names are fixed to referents through historical causal chains.
• The 'type method' in taxonomy is often interpreted through this causal lens.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose an alternative to the causal-historical theory for biological nomenclature.
• To introduce and defend the descriptive name (DN) account for taxon names.
• To analyze the implications of the DN account for debates on type specimen identification and name application.

Main Methods:

• Introduced the descriptive name (DN) account, defining it as a referring expression established by a definite description.
• Contrasted the DN account with the causal-historical theory, highlighting differences in reference fixing and descriptive content.
• Utilized a pragmatic distinction between attributive and referential uses of descriptions to analyze modal claims in taxonomy.

Main Results:

• The DN account posits that assigning a type specimen performatively establishes a synonymy between a taxon name and a definite description.
• Taxon names, under the DN account, possess associated descriptive content and semantic rules for application.
• A metalinguistic version of the sentence 'Necessarily, any species with a type specimen contains its type specimen' is falsified under the DN account.

Conclusions:

• The descriptive name account offers a viable alternative to the causal-historical theory for understanding biological nomenclature.
• This account provides a clearer framework for the semantic content and application criteria of taxon names.
• The DN account resolves debates concerning the necessity and truth conditions of modal statements about type specimens.