Abstract

In this paper I assert that the distinction between social and natural objects is obsolete. We do better when we describe the differences between objects regarding two kinds of reference which I am going to distinguish and present here. Regarding what distinguishes natural kinds from artifacts, some authors, such as Thomasson, assume that a fundamental difference is the fact that the identity conditions of artifacts in contrast to the identity conditions of natural objects depend on the intention and the concept of the subject which has produced the object. Below I will argue that the existence of natural objects depends on the intention and the concept of a subject as well. For this I will show, that individuation of objects is a basic way to produce objects and that it is based on intentions. Then I will show that this does not imply that each of our terms refers to an entity whose existence depends on subjects’ intention and concepts. Finally, I will propose that the difference between referring to entities that are dependent and entities that are not is a good difference to distinguish between two meaningful kinds of objects without making a distinction of natural and social objects.