Beyond Concepts Unicepts, Language and Natural Information

Cover......Page 1
Beyond Concepts: Unicepts, Language, and Natural Information......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Part I: Unicepts......Page 10
§0.1 Overview......Page 12
§0.2 Selection Processes......Page 13
§0.3 Ontology and Language......Page 15
§0.4 Unicepts and Unitrackers......Page 16
§0.5 Organization and Method......Page 18
§0.6 Acknowledgments......Page 19
§1.2 Real Kinds......Page 20
§1.3 Reproduction and Mass Production......Page 24
§1.4 Historical Kinds......Page 26
§1.5 Individuals......Page 27
§1.6 Eternal Kinds......Page 30
§1.7 Shapes and Divisions of Historical Kind Clumps......Page 31
§1.8 Real Categories......Page 33
§2.2 Conventions of Language......Page 36
§2.3 Following Precedent......Page 39
§2.4 Direct Reference to Clumps......Page 41
§2.5 Identifying through Language......Page 43
§2.6 Real Definitions......Page 44
§2.7 Names for Properties......Page 45
§2.8 Boundaries and Slippage......Page 46
§2.9 Communication with Names for Clumps and Peaks......Page 48
§3.1 Overview......Page 51
§3.2 Initial Examples of Unitracker Function......Page 52
§3.3 Discarding Concepts......Page 55
§3.4 Details on the Nature and Function of Unicepts......Page 58
§3.5 Life Span and Growth of Unitrackers and Unicepts......Page 60
§3.6 How Names Connect with Unicepts......Page 61
§3.7 The Role of Language in Unicept Development......Page 62
§3.8 On Modeling Unicepts......Page 63
§4.2 Perceptual Constancy Mechanisms......Page 65
§4.3 Self-Relative Location Trackers......Page 68
§4.4 Object Constancy......Page 69
§4.5 Same-Tracking for Application of Unicept Templates......Page 70
§4.6.1 “Stuffs”......Page 71
§4.6.2 Affording unicepts......Page 72
§4.6.3 Affording unicepts for natural continua......Page 74
§4.7 Factic Unicepts: Substantive and Attributive......Page 75
§4.8 Two Closing Remarks......Page 77
§5.2 How Unicept Referents Are Fixed: The Quarry......Page 79
§5.3 Two General Principles Concerning Functions......Page 81
§5.4 Imprinting......Page 83
§5.5 More General Mechanisms for Priming Unitrackers......Page 84
§5.6 Some Mechanisms that Set Targets, Specifically, for Affording Unicepts......Page 85
§5.7 The Problem of Location-Detached Signs......Page 86
§5.8 A Third General Principle: Proxy Functions......Page 88
§5.9 Natural Epistemology for Substantive and Attributive Unicepts......Page 89
§6.2 Failures of Biological Function......Page 93
§6.3 False Beliefs......Page 97
§6.4 Redundant Unitrackers and Fregean Senses......Page 98
§6.5 Equivocepts......Page 100
§6.6 Vacucepts......Page 102
§6.7 How Unicepts Fit with Biosemantics......Page 103
§6.8 Swampman......Page 104
§7.2 Philosophical Analysis......Page 106
§7.3 Referents of Names......Page 108
§7.4 Theory Change in Science......Page 110
§7.5 Observation versus Theory......Page 111
§7.6 “Theory of Mind”......Page 112
Part II: Infosigns, Intentional Signs, and their Interpretation......Page 116
§8.2 Infosigns and Natural Information......Page 118
§8.3 Infosigns and Intentional Signs......Page 120
§8.4 Interpreting Linguistic Signs......Page 121
§9.2 Assumptions to be Questioned......Page 123
§9.3 Components of Conventional Linguistic Signs......Page 124
§9.4 Preliminary Examples of Selfsigning Components......Page 126
§9.5 Indexicals and Demonstratives......Page 129
§9.6 Addendum on Intensional Contexts......Page 131
§10.2 The Project......Page 133
§10.3 Infosigns Are Always Articulate and Often Productive......Page 134
§10.4 Equivocal Infosigns......Page 136
§10.5 Infosign Systems and Families......Page 137
§10.6 Variants and Invariants; EmbeddedInfosign Families......Page 138
§10.7.2 Relative reflexives......Page 140
§10.7.3 Isosigns......Page 141
§10.7.4 Names......Page 142
§10.7.5 Roaming names......Page 143
§10.7.6 A summary example......Page 144
§10.8 How a Language Is Put Together......Page 145
§11.2 The Project......Page 146
§11.3 Examples of Nonintentional Infosigns......Page 148
§11.4 Causal Connections; Dretske on Natural Information......Page 149
§11.5 Correlational Information......Page 150
§11.6 The Reference Class Problem......Page 152
§11.7 Addressing the Reference Class Problem......Page 153
§11.8 Using Infosigns......Page 156
§11.9 Correlations between Types of States of Affairs......Page 158
§11.10 Infosign Strength and Response Strength......Page 159
§11.11 Redundancy......Page 160
§11.12 Metacorrelations......Page 161
§11.13 Indirect Infosigns; Indirect Natural Information......Page 162
§12.2 The Project......Page 164
§12.3 Intentional Infosigns......Page 165
§12.4 Intentional Signs and Stabilizing Functions......Page 168
§12.5 Pure and Impure Intentional Signs......Page 169
§12.6 Entwining of Intentional Content and Nonintentional Information......Page 170
§12.8 Maps, Charts, Diagrams, Graphs......Page 172
§12.9 Extending the Senses......Page 173
§12.10 Inner Representations......Page 174
§13.2 The Topic......Page 176
§13.3 Semantic Meaning......Page 179
§13.4 Communicating with Language: The Broad Picture......Page 182
§13.5 Meta-Regularities and Extra-Semantic Infocontent......Page 184
§13.6 Grice’s Conversational Maxims......Page 185
13.7 Far-Side Pragmatic Meaning, or Semantic Meaning?......Page 187
§13.8 Addendum: Gricean Temptations......Page 190
§14.2 The Project......Page 193
§14.3 Perception as Sign Reading......Page 194
§14.4 Attached and Detached Signs, with an aside on Animal Cognition......Page 196
§14.5 Genuine Perception Thought of as Certain......Page 199
§14.6 The Contents of Perceptual Experience......Page 202
§14.7 Translating Linguistic Signs into Understanding......Page 205
§14.8.1 But a dog doesn't look like this: “DOG”......Page 207
§14.8.2 The referents of words like “electron,” “democracy,” and “intelligence” can be talked about but not perceived......Page 208
§14.8.3 Abstract entities can be talked about but can’t be perceived......Page 209
§14.8.4 Understanding without believing......Page 210
§14.8.5 Referents supplied by speaker intentions must be understood by recognizing speaker intentions......Page 211
§15.2 Selfsigns of Identity: Duplicate Markers; Strawson Markers......Page 213
§15.3 Anaphoric Signs of Identity......Page 215
§15.4 Grounding as Indicating Identity......Page 217
§15.5 Situated Signs; Counting up Signs......Page 218
§15.6 Recognizing Identity: A Reminder......Page 219
§16.2 Three Kinds of Referent......Page 221
§16.3 Functions of the Definite and Indefinite Articles......Page 222
§16.4 Quantifiers, Possessives, and Proper Names......Page 226
§16.5 Thumbnail Review of Basic Themes......Page 227
Glossary......Page 230
Bibliography......Page 236
Index......Page 246