Creations of the Mind: Theories of Artifacts and Their Representation

by Eric Margolis, Stephen Laurence

Overview

Creations of the Mind presents sixteen original essays by theorists from a wide variety of disciplines who have a shared interest in the nature of artifacts and their implications for the human mind. All the papers are written specially for this volume, and they cover a broad range of topics concerned with the metaphysics of artifacts, our concepts of artifacts and the categories that they represent, the emergence of an understanding of artifacts in infants' cognitive development, as well as the evolution of artifacts and the use of tools by non-human animals. This volume will be a fascinating resource for philosophers, cognitive scientists, and psychologists, and the starting point for future research in the study of artifacts and their role in human understanding, development, and behavior.

Contributors: John R. Searle, Richard E. Grandy, Crawford L. Elder, Amie L. Thomasson, Jerrold Levinson, Barbara C. Malt, Steven A. Sloman, Dan Sperber, Hilary Kornblith, Paul Bloom, Bradford Z. Mahon, Alfonso Caramazza, Jean M. Mandler, Deborah Kelemen, Susan Carey, Frank C. Keil, Marissa L. Greif, Rebekkah S. Kerner, James L. Gould, Marc D. Hauser, Laurie R. Santos, and Steven Mithen.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199250981
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/02/2007
Pages:	372
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.20(h) x 1.00(d)

Table of Contents

IntroductionPART I: METAPHYSICSSocial Ontology and the Philosophy of Society, John R. SearleArtifacts: Parts and Principles, Richard E. GrandyOn the Place of Artifacts in Ontology, Crawford L. ElderArtifacts and Human Concepts, Amie L. ThomassonArtworks as Artifacts, Jerrold LevinsonPART II: CONCEPTS AND CATEGORIESArtifact Categorization: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Barbara C. Malt and Steven A. SlomanSeedless Grapes: Nature and Culture, Dan SperberHow to Refer to Artifacts, Hilary KornblithWater as an Artifact Kind, Paul BloomThe Organization and Representation of Conceptual Knowledge in the Brain: Living Kinds and Artifacts, Bradford Z. Mahon and Alfonso CaramazzaPART III: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTThe Conceptual Foundations of Animals and Artifacts, Jean M. MandlerThe Essence of Artifacts: Developing the Design Stance, Deborah Kelemen and Susan CareyA World Apart: How Concepts of the Constructed World are Different in Representation and in Development, Frank C. Keil, Marissa L. Greif, and Rebekkah S. KernerPART IV: EVOLUTIONAnimal Artifacts, James L. GouldThe Evolutionary Ancestry of our Knowledge of Tools: From Percepts to Concepts, Marc D. Hauser and Laurie R. SantosCreations of Pre-Modern Human Minds: Stone Tool Manufacture and Use by Homo Habilis, Heidelbergensis and Neanderthalensis, Steven Mithen