Formal explanations–explanations that explain properties of a thing by reference to what the
thing is, for example, Fido has four legs because he is a dog, appear to be tautological and …

In this paper, I propose a theory of living organisms that captures the insights of both
traditional Aristotelian hylomorphism and John Dupré's “biological processualism”. Like …

Sparrows fly because they are birds. This mushroom is poisonous because it is an Amanita
muscaria. Pointing out the kind to which things belong explains many of their properties …