However some historians of science have questioned how much influence Plato's essentialism had on natural philosophy by stating that many philosophers after Plato believed that species might be capable of transformation and that the idea that biologic species were fixed and possessed unchangeable essential characteristics did not become important until the beginning of biological taxonomy in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Namun, beberapa sejarawan sains mempertanyakan bagaimana sebagian besar esensialisme Plato mempengaruhi filsafat alam dengan menyatakan bahwa beberapa filsuf setelah Plato meyakini bahwa spesies dapat bertransformasi dan gagasan bahwa spesies biologi bersifat sempurna dan menghimpun karakteristik esensial yang tak berubah yang tak berpengaruh sampai permulaan taksonomi biologi pada abad ke-17 dan ke-18.