The Myth of the Final Criterion
نویسنده
چکیده
Theories of psychological categories have all conformed to the thesis that for every psychological category, there is a final criterion that is the ultimate arbiter of category membership. This final criterion not only determines a category’s boundaries but also key aspects of its cognitive significance. I propose that the thesis is false: there are no final criteria. I then explore what a theory of concepts might look like in the absence of final criteria. My chief aim is consciousness-raising: rather than presenting arguments against the thesis of the final criterion, I seek to show that some very interesting psychological possibilities lie outside its purview; we should not limit ourselves to theories of concepts that are built according to the criterion. 1. The Final Criterion Psychological categories are those categories that we impose on the world in virtue of our concepts. They exist independently of what might be called natural categories: they may align with the natural categories well, badly, or not at all. (Then again, perhaps there are no natural categories to align with.)
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تاریخ انتشار 2003