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Defending the concept of “concepts”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2010

Brett K. Hayes
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. b.hayes@unsw.edu.aulkearney@psy.unsw.edu.au
Lauren Kearney
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. b.hayes@unsw.edu.aulkearney@psy.unsw.edu.au

Abstract

We critically review key lines of evidence and theoretical argument relevant to Machery's “heterogeneity hypothesis.” These include interactions between different kinds of concept representations, unified approaches to explaining contextual effects on concept retrieval, and a critique of empirical dissociations as evidence for concept heterogeneity. We suggest there are good grounds for retaining the concept construct in human cognition.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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