My book, Doing without Concepts, is now out! You can get it from the Oxford University Press website or from Amazon (where it is not yet in stock).
Most of you know know the take-home message of the book: The notion of concept should be eliminated from the theoretical vocabulary of psychology.
But there is much more in the book: I clarify the notion of concept used in psychology in chapter 1; I argue that much of the arguments against psychological theories of concepts are unsound, and I explain why the philosophy of concepts has made so little progress in chapter 2; I examine the nature of the evidence required to argue that a kind of representations is not homogenous in chapter 5; I argue for specific views about categorization, induction, and concept composition in chapters 6 and 7; I criticize the current work done about concepts in neuropsychology in chapter 7; and I examine the validity and soundness of eliminativist arguments in chapter 8. So, hopefully, a lot of food for thought!
Also, if you are around Pittsburgh in March, keep in mind that there is a workshop on the book with Barbara Malt and Jesse Prinz (March 5, information here). There is another workshop on Doing without Concepts with Diana Raffman, Stevan Harnad, and Chris Hill in Ottawa at the end of May.
Edouard
Concepts are indeed an artificial construction, unrepresentative of reality. For more insight on this, check out Tony Parson’s site at theopensecret.com and also do a search for his name on Youtube. The video’s to be found are mind, er, concept-blowing.
Congrats Edouard!
And, nice cover!