 The counting characterization of what a sortal is includes many varied forms; we can count dogs, brown dogs, old brown dogs, old brown dachshunds, breeds of dog. But at most one of these characterizes the essence of the things we are counting. When being careful, philosophers call this subset essential sortals. But not everyone is always careful. Also, there is a deep disagreement over whether the entire concept of an essence makes sense  and so there are debates over whether there are a special subcategory of essential sortals. For example, both Brody(1980) and Wiggins(2001) argue for there being essential sortals, while Mackie(2006) against it. And among those who hold that there are essential sortals, there is disagreement over whether these are at a general level such as “animal” or a specific level such as “dog”