kindlike

Kindlike is a term used primarily in philosophy of science and cognitive science to denote the degree to which a particular object or instance participates in the essential features of a natural kind. Etymologically, it combines kind and like to express resemblance in terms of kind membership rather than mere superficial similarity.

The notion is used to distinguish degree of kind membership from mere similarity. In essentialist accounts, a thing is kindlike to a kind to the extent that it bears the core properties that define that kind; in prototype or family resemblance accounts, kindlike can map onto how closely an instance aligns with a prototype.

In practice, researchers might quantify kindlikeness using feature-based similarity, statistical clustering, or model-based inference. In AI, for example, a classifier may assign a kindlikeness score indicating the likelihood that an input belongs to a canonical kind, which informs decision making and explanations.

The term is not widely standardized; it appears in some discussions and textbooks as a heuristic concept rather than a formal technical term. It may be used alongside terms such as prototypicality or essential membership.