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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

Concepts versus conceptions (again).

Georges Rey¹

¹Department of Philosophy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. georey@earthlink.net

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences

|June 30, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study argues that Machery overlooks the vital role of concepts in psychological explanations. Externalist theories provide essential conceptual stability despite variations in how individuals understand concepts.

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Area of Science:

Philosophy of Psychology
Cognitive Science
Epistemology

Background:

Machery's work highlights variations in epistemic access to concepts.
Existing philosophical literature on concepts often focuses on their content and representation.
The role of concepts in psychological explanation remains a debated topic.

Purpose of the Study:

To critique Machery's neglect of the role of concepts in psychological explanation.
To highlight the contributions of externalist theories to understanding conceptual stability.
To reconcile the variation in epistemic relations to concepts with their underlying stability.

Main Methods:

Conceptual analysis of Machery's arguments.
Review of externalist and related philosophical theories of concepts.
Philosophical argumentation regarding the nature of concepts and psychological explanation.

Main Results:

Machery's account insufficiently addresses the function of concepts in psychological theories.
Externalist and kindred proposals offer a framework for conceptual stability.
The variation in epistemic relations to concepts does not negate their inherent stability.

Conclusions:

A robust account of psychological explanation requires a stable theory of concepts.
Externalist approaches provide the necessary foundation for conceptual stability.
Further research should integrate externalist insights into the study of concepts in psychology.