Scientific Concepts as Forward-Looking: How Taxonomic Structure Facilitates Conceptual Development

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2020

Publisher

Brill Academic Publishers

Source Publication

Journal of the Philosophy of History

Source ISSN

1872-261x

Abstract

This paper examines the interplay between conceptual structure and the evolution of scientific concepts, arguing that concepts are fundamentally ‘forward-looking’ constructs. Drawing on empirical studies of similarity and categorization, I explicate the way in which the conceptual taxonomy highlights the ‘relevant respects’ for similarity judgments involved in categorization. I then propose that this taxonomy provides some of the cognitive underpinnings of the ongoing development of scientific concepts. I use the concept synapse to illustrate my proposal, showing how conceptual taxonomy both facilitates and constrains the accommodation of newly discovered phenomena. I end by briefly considering the implications of the proposed approach for a normative evaluation of scientific concepts.

Comments

Journal of the Philosophy of History, Vol. 14, No. 2 (February 2020): 205-231. DOI.

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