Concepts Core Readings

by Margolis, Eric; Laurence, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9780262631938
• ISBN10: 0262631938
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-06-21
• Publisher: Bradford Books

Summary

Concepts: Core Readings traces the develoment of one of the most active areas of investigation in cognitive science. This comprehensive volume brings together the essential background readings from philosophy, psychology, and linguistics, while providing a broad sampling of contemporary research. The first part of the book centers around the fall of the Classical Theory of Concepts in the face of attacks by W. V. O. Quine, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Eleanor Rosch, and others, emphasizing the emergence and development of the Prototype Theory and the controversies it spurred. The second part surveys a broad range of contemporary theories--Neoclassical Theories, the Prototype Theory, the Theory-Theory, and Conceptual Atomism.

Author Biography

Eric Margolis is Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia. Margolis and Laurence are coeditors of Concepts: Core Readings (MIT Press).

Stephen Laurence is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield. Margolis and Laurence are coeditors of Concepts: Core Readings (MIT Press).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Concepts and Cognitive Science	p. 3
Origins of the Contemporary Study of Concepts	p. 83
The Classical Theory	p. 85
Euthyphro	p. 87
The Process of Concept Attainment	p. 101
On the General Character of Semantic Theory	p. 125
Philosophical Skepticism about the Classical Theory	p. 151
Two Dogmas of Empiricism	p. 153
Philosophical Investigations, sections 65-78	p. 171
The Probabilistic Turn: Stereotypes, Prototypes, Exemplars	p. 175
Is Semantics Possible?	p. 177
Principles of Categorization	p. 189
The Exemplar View	p. 207
Critical Reactions to the Probabilistic Turn	p. 223
What Some Concepts Might Not Be	p. 225
On the Adequacy of Prototype Theory as a Theory of Concepts	p. 261
Concepts and Stereotypes	p. 279
Current Theories and Research	p. 301
Neoclassical Theories	p. 303
What Is a Concept, That a Person May Grasp It?	p. 305
Precis of A Study of Concepts	p. 335
Resisting Primitive Compulsions	p. 339
Can Possession Conditions Individuate Concepts?	p. 345
Rethinking Prototypes	p. 353
Combining Prototypes: A Selective Modification Model	p. 355
Cognitive Models and Prototype Theory	p. 391
The Theory-Theory	p. 423
The Role of Theories in Conceptual Coherence	p. 425
Knowledge Acquisition: Enrichment or Conceptual Change?	p. 459
Conceptual Atomism	p. 489
Against Definitions	p. 491
Information and Representation	p. 513
A Common Structure for Concepts of Individuals, Stuffs and Real Kinds: More Mama, More Milk, and More Mouse	p. 525
How to Acquire a Concept	p. 549
Concept Possession in Infants and Children	p. 569
The Object Concept Revisited: New Directions in the Investigation of Infants' Physical Knowledge	p. 571
Insides and Essences: Early Understandings of the Non-Obvious	p. 613
Index	p. 639
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