Concepts: Core Readings (Paperback)

by Eric Margolis (Editor), Stephen Laurence (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"This volume has all the great papers on concepts, with invaluable commentary by the editors. The profound and fascinating essays in the collection are indispensable for anyone interested in the human mind."
—Steven Pinker, Professor and Director, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, MIT, and author of The Language Instinct and How the Mind Works

Product Description
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.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 664 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; illustrated edition edition (July 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262631938
• ISBN-13: 978-0262631938
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #368,145 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensible Readings on the Psychology of Concepts, April 25, 2000

By	psychephile - See all my reviews

For linguistics and the philosophy of language to make any headway, the psychological nature of concepts cannot be ignored.

In "Core Readings," Margolis and Laurence performed the admirable job of keeping us on this task by assembling writings and criticisms of five theories of concepts: Classical, Prototype, Theory-Theory, Neoclassical, and Conceptual Atomism. What emerges from this assembly is an identification of the core questions that any theory of concepts must address.

No serious student of concepts should neglect this important collection.