[madnak]

People classify things because it helps them make sense of a world that they have, until recently, lacked the ability to understand. We have evolved the tendency to view the world in terms of "kinds" and "essences" in the same sense that we have evolved the tendency to see patterns where there are none. That humans naturally tend to group things together is no indication that their groupings are valid, and it's no wonder so many "great" metaphysicians have failed to make a single accurate prediction and have instead come to patently absurd conclusions. "It's easy to assume x, therefore x must be true" - I think collectively we are better than this (finally).