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Two Concepts of Concept
Author(s) -
KHALIDI MUHAMMAD ALI
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
mind and language
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.905
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1468-0017
pISSN - 0268-1064
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0017.1995.tb00021.x
Subject(s) - epistemology , cognitive science , philosophy of language , computer science , philosophy of mind , psychology , philosophy , metaphysics
Two main theories of concepts have emerged in the recent psychological literature: the Prototype Theory (which considers concepts to be self‐contained lists of features) and the Theory Theory (which conceives of them as being embedded within larger theoretical networks). Experiments supporting the first theory usually differ substantially from those supporting the second, which suggests that these theories may be operating at different levels of explanation and dealing with different entities. A convergence is proposed between the Theory Theory and the intentional stance in the philosophy of language and mind. From this stance, concepts should not be thought of as concrete physical entities.