How to Acquire a Concept PDF
ABSTRACT. Can an atomistic theory of concepts accommodate concept learning? The standard assumption is no: without internal structure, there are no semantic constituents for learning to assemble. This paper challenges that assumption. I develop an acquisition model for natural kind concepts within an atomistic, information-based semantic framework. The key is the notion of a sustaining mechanism—the inferential apparatus that links a concept to its worldly property. I argue that children's essentialist dispositions and perceptual heuristics for natural kinds provide the resources to construct such mechanisms through experience with exemplars, delivering a learning model rather than a mere triggering account.
Margolis, E. (1998). How to Acquire a Concept. Mind & Language, 13:3, pp. 347-369. DOI: 10.1111/1468-0017.00081
Margolis, E. (1998). How to Acquire a Concept. Mind & Language, 13:3, pp. 347-369. DOI: 10.1111/1468-0017.00081