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Article
Splitting Concepts
Philosophy of Science
  • Gualtiero Piccinini, University of Missouri-St. Louis
  • Sam Scott
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Keywords
  • Gualtiero Piccinini,
  • Philosophy,
  • Journal Article
Abstract

A common presupposition in the concepts literature is that concepts constitute a singular natural kind. If, on the contrary, concepts split into more than one kind, this literature needs to be recast in terms of other kinds of mental representation. We offer two new arguments that concepts, in fact, divide into different kinds: (a) concepts split because different kinds of mental representation, processed independently, must be posited to explain different sets of relevant phenomena; (b) concepts split because different kinds of mental representation, processed independently, must be posited to explain responses to different kinds of category. Whether these arguments are sound remains an open empirical question, to be resolved by future empirical and theoretical work.

Publication Date
10-1-2006
DOI
10.1086/516806
Citation Information
Gualtiero Piccinini and Sam Scott, "Splitting Concepts," Philosophy of Science 73, no. 4 (October 2006): 390-409. https://doi.org/10.1086/516806