Slide 15 of 37
Notes:
The classic view of conceptual representation is that the mind contains definitions of concepts which represent the external reality of the class of objects that make up the extension of the concept. The definition specifies the necessary and sufficient conditions for an object to be a member of the designated category. This classic view can be rejected on a number of grounds, including failure to find necessary features for most concepts, graded structure of all concepts, and the ability to form and use ad hoc concepts.
Lakoff’s analysis of the concept of mother shows the variety of ways in which a single concept can be used. The symbol for mother is inadequate to signal the precise meaning of the term. Concepts are depauperate, a biological term meaning “poorly or imperfectly developed.” There is no single or core definition of mother, rather we employ theories of what the concept means. Some theories for mother include (see also Thelan & Smith, 1994):
Birth theory: woman giving birth
Nurturance theory: woman providing nurturance
Genetic theory: female contributing the genes
Marital theory: wife of father
Genealogical theory: closest female ancestor
There are multiple disjunctive processes that operate over the same input at the same time (See Thelan & Smith, 1994, p. 167).
