In Concepts, Kinds, and Cognitive Development, Frank Keil provides a coherent account of how concepts and word meanings develop in children, adding to our understanding of the representational nature of concepts and word meanings at all ages.Keil argues that it is impossible to adequately understand the nature of conceptual representation without also considering the issue of learning. Weaving together issues in cognitive development, philosophy, and cognitive psychology, he reconciles numerous theories, backed by empirical evidence from nominal kinds studies, natural-kinds studies, and studies of fundamental categorical distinctions. He shows that all this evidence, when put together, leads to a better understanding of semantic and conceptual development.The book opens with an analysis of the problems of modeling qualitative changes in conceptual development, investigating how concepts of natural kinds, nominal kinds, and artifacts evolve.The studies on nominal kinds document a powerful and unambiguous developmental pattern indicating a shift from a reliance on global tabulations of characteristic features to what appears to be a small set of defining ones. The studies on natural kinds document an analogous shift toward a core theory instead of simple definition. Both sets of studies are strongly supported by cross cultural data.While these patterns seem to suggest that the young child organizes concepts according to characteristic features, Kell argues that there is a framework of conceptual categories and causal beliefs that enables even very young children to understand kinds at a deeper, theoretically guided, level. This account suggests a new way of understanding qualitative change and carries strong implications for how concepts are represented at any point in development.Frank Keil is Professor of Psychology at Cornell University and Co Director of the Cognitive Studies Program at Cornell. Concepts, Kinds, and Cognitive Development is included in the series Learning, Development, and Conceptual Change. A Bradford Book.
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"Keil is arguably the most original thinker in the field of conceptual development." James Russell , Times Higher Education Supplement
"The exposition of the empirical studies is admirably clear, and the findings themselves are significant. For linguists interested in concept development and concept representation, and also for philosophers of language who are interested in the causal theory of reference, this book is valuable." Paul Saka , Language
About the Author
Frank C. Keil is Professor of Psychology at Yale University.
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This review is from: Concepts, Kinds, and Cognitive Development (Learning, Development, and Conceptual Change) (Hardcover)
As the title says, the book analyses the development of concepts in children. It starts with explanation of the classical theories of concepts, the reasons of their forming, and what they are lacking.
Starting from that, it goes carefully, without presuming anything, through a set of empirical studies done with young children (pre-school, and early school ages), tightening the ring arround the possible theories. As a result, at the end the theory of theory based concepts seems to be best fitted. Closing chapter made me eager to read following books of the author, where he is supposed to analyze what kind of early theories there are in children, if there is just few general , or more specific ones. Very clearly and well written.
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- Race in the Making: Cognition, Culture, and the Child's Construction of Human Kinds (Learning, Development, and Conceptual Change) by Lawrence A. Hirschfeld in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Conceptualizing Music: Cognitive Structure, Theory, and Analysis (AMS Studies in Music) by Lawrence M. Zbikowski on page 117, and Back Matter
- Drawing Distinctions: The Varieties of Graphic Expression by Patrick Maynard in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Similarity and Symbols in Human Thinking (Cognition Special Issue) by Steven A Sloman on page 77, and page 209
- Kripke: Names, Necessity, and Identity by Christopher Hughes on page 63, and Back Matter
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