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Single Idea 11125

[filed under theme 18. Thought / D. Concepts / 3. Ontology of Concepts / b. Concepts as abilities ]

Full Idea

The abilities view of concepts, by its rejection of mental representation, is ill-equipped to explain the productivity of thought; and it can say little about mental processes.

Gist of Idea

The abilities view cannot explain the productivity of thought, or mental processes

Source

E Margolis/S Laurence (Concepts [2009], 1.2)

Book Ref

'Stanford Online Encyclopaedia of Philosophy', ed/tr. Stanford University [plato.stanford.edu], p.4

A Reaction

The latter point arises from its behaviouristic character, which just gives us a black box with some output of abilities. In avoiding a possible regress, it offers no explanation at all.

The 18 ideas with the same theme [concepts as abilities to believe, decide and reason]:

14792 A 'conception', the rational implication of a word, lies in its bearing upon the conduct of life [Peirce]
18975 We return to experience with concepts, where they show us differences [James]
12576 Possessing a concept is knowing how to go on [Wittgenstein, by Peacocke]
4157 Concepts direct our interests and investigations, and express those interests [Wittgenstein]
12606 Man learns the concept of the past by remembering [Wittgenstein]
10731 For abstractionists, concepts are capacities to recognise recurrent features of the world [Geach]
7613 Concepts are (at least in part) abilities and not occurrences [Putnam]
12575 Concepts have a 'Generality Constraint', that we must know how predicates apply to them [Evans, by Peacocke]
12614 I prefer psychological atomism - that concepts are independent of epistemic capacities [Fodor]
2471 Are concepts best seen as capacities? [Fodor]
2472 For Pragmatists having a concept means being able to do something [Fodor]
2438 In the information view, concepts are potentials for making distinctions [Fodor]
12626 Cartesians put concept individuation before concept possession [Fodor]
12577 Possessing a concept is being able to make judgements which use it [Peacocke]
12578 A concept is just what it is to possess that concept [Peacocke]
12587 Employing a concept isn't decided by introspection, but by making judgements using it [Peacocke]
11123 Maybe the concept CAT is just the ability to discriminate and infer about cats [Margolis/Laurence]
11125 The abilities view cannot explain the productivity of thought, or mental processes [Margolis/Laurence]