Jim Devine wrote: > > > I'd avoid the word "essence." > > The word "essence," unfortunately, has idealist connotations. On the > other hand, "shared characteristics" focuses on the real-world, > empirical, phenomena without seeing them as mere reflections on > Plato's cave wall. There is something in the real world that is shared > by these real-world phenomena.
For later reference I would suggest reading (or recalling) Gould's argument for the word and concept in _Structure of Evolutionary Theory_. I'm aware of the difficulties of the concept and its idealist tendencies, but I don't really think you can get along without it. In fact, "There is something in the real world that is shared" is just another way of saying "these real-world phenomena have a real essence." "Something" needs to refer to something. :-) Surplus value is invisible because it is a constantly changing relation, a process. Are relations real? Jim Blaut once came close to claiming that if we knew all the facts we wouldn't have to study relations. I think he was profoundly wrong; facts do not exist independently of relations, and relations cannot be reduced to the facts. They are real. Carrol Carrol
