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Intention, history, and artifact concepts

¹Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, USA. bloom@u.arizona.edu

|July 1, 1996

Summary

Artifact kind membership hinges on inferred creation intent, not just appearance or function. This intentional-historical theory explains how we categorize objects like chairs and clocks.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Science
Philosophy of Mind
Linguistics

Background:

Prior research indicates physical appearance, current use, and intended function are insufficient for defining artifact concepts.
Existing theories struggle to explain the core of concepts like 'chair', 'clock', or 'pawn'.

Purpose of the Study:

To present an intentional-historical theory for understanding artifact kind concepts.
To explain how humans intuitively categorize objects into specific artifact kinds.

Main Methods:

The study proposes an intentional-historical theory, drawing from Levinson's (1993) work on the concept of art.
It analyzes the inferential process of determining artifact kind membership based on creation intention.

Main Results:

Objects are identified as members of an artifact kind if they were successfully created with the intention to belong to that kind.
This theory explains the varying importance of properties like shape versus color in kind identification.
It accounts for dissimilar objects being classified within the same artifact kind.

Conclusions:

The intentional-historical theory provides a framework for understanding artifact concepts, including the conditions for broken objects ceasing to be members of their kind.
This account aligns with broader essentialist theories of concepts for proper names and natural kinds.

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