Bursten

Smaller than a Breadbox: Classification at the Nanoscale

Julia Bursten, Department of Philosophy, San Francisco State University

Drawing on traditional philosophical problems of natural kinds, I show that classification in nanoscience differs from classification in chemistry. The latter relies heavily on compositional identity, whereas the former must consider additional properties, namely size, shape, and surface chemistry. I use this difference to argue for a scale-dependent theory of classification, and I show that the multi-valued approach to classification in this theory supports the varied goals of different scientific projects. I discuss implications of this result for more general accounts of classification in philosophy of science, and for contemporary practices in nanoscience.