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The Quantitative Dimension of Kind Concepts.
Theo Fenton1, Sandeep Prasada2,3
1Program in Philosophy, Graduate Center, CUNY.
Cognitive Science
|July 14, 2026
Summary
We found that people understand kinds to have unlimited instances, and that distinguishing between kinds requires qualitative differences, not just numerical ones. This quantitative aspect of kind concepts is crucial for cognitive theories.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Psychology
- Linguistics
Background:
- Conceptual representation theories often focus on qualitative aspects like definitions or prototypes.
- The quantitative dimension of kind representations has been largely overlooked in cognitive theories.
- Understanding how we represent kinds quantitatively is fundamental to cognition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the quantitative dimension of kind and instance-of-kind representations.
- To explore how humans conceptualize the number of instances within a kind.
- To examine the criteria for distinguishing between different kinds.
Main Methods:
- Four experiments were conducted to test hypotheses about the quantitative aspects of kind concepts.
- Participants' judgments and intuitions about kinds and their instances were assessed.
- Experimental designs focused on numerical versus qualitative distinctions.
Main Results:
- Evidence suggests that kinds are understood to comprise an unlimited number of instances.
- Two instances of the same kind are distinguished numerically.
- Two different kinds require qualitative distinctions for differentiation.
Conclusions:
- Human conceptual representations of kinds possess a quantitative dimension.
- The unlimited nature of instances within a kind and the qualitative distinctness of kinds are key characteristics.
- Future theories of conceptual representation must incorporate these quantitative features.
Keywords:
Instance‐of‐kind individuationKind conceptsKind individuationKind representationsQualitative dimensionQuantitative dimensionMore Related Videos
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