A Response (or Addendum) to Oderberg on the Concept of a Species

One of the biggest issues in contemporary philosophy of biology is the so-called ‘species problem’. The problem being that biologists and philosophers cannot agree on what is meant by the word ‘species’. As a result, a large number of competing ‘species concepts’ have emerged, with different thinkers endorsing different concepts, whilst others argue for an amicable plurality of concepts embracing, what is called, ‘species pluralism’. One often overlooked contender in this debate is the Aristotelian species concept, a version of which is put forward by David Oderberg. In this paper I will examine Oderberg’s Aristotelian species concept. I will highlight a potential issue it faces and will then propose a solution before re-examining the species problem.