Radical concept nativism.
Radical concept nativism is the thesis that virtually all lexical concepts are innate. Notoriously endorsed by Jerry Fodor, radical concept nativism has had few supporters. However, it has proven difficult to say exactly what's wrong with Fodor's argument. We show that previous responses are inadequate on a number of grounds. Chief among these is that they typically do not achieve sufficient distance from Fodor's dialectic, and, as a result, they do not illuminate the central question of how new primitive concepts are acquired. To achieve a fully satisfactory response to Fodor's argument, one has to juxtapose questions about conceptual content with questions about cognitive development. To this end, we formulate a general schema for thinking about how concepts are acquired and then present a detailed illustration.
Laurence
Stephen
S
Department of Philosophy and Hang Seng Centre for Cognitive Studies, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN, Sheffield, UK.
Margolis
Eric
E
D003210:Concept Formation; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010684:Philosophy / Q000266:history; D011584:Psychology / Q000266:history