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The points of concepts: their types, tensions, and connections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2020

Matthieu Queloz Open the ORCID record for Matthieu Queloz [Opens in a new window]
Matthieu Queloz*
Affiliation:
Department of Arts, Media and Philosophy, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
*
Matthieu Queloz matthieu.queloz@unibas.chDepartment of Arts, Media and Philosophy, University of Basel, Steinengraben 5, Basel4051, Switzerland
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Abstract

In the literature seeking to explain concepts in terms of their point, talk of ‘the point’ of concepts remains under-theorised. I propose a typology of points which distinguishes practical, evaluative, animating, and inferential points. This allows us to resolve tensions such as that between the ambition of explanations in terms of the points of concepts to be informative and the claim that mastering concepts requires grasping their point; and it allows us to exploit connections between types of points to understand why they come apart, and whether they do so for problematic ideological reasons or for benignly functional reasons.

Keywords

Conceptsconceptual point, function or purposepoint-based explanationpoint-based conceptual engineeringthick conceptsideological function
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Philosophy , Volume 49 , Issue 8 , December 2019 , pp. 1122 - 1145
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Journal of Philosophy 2019

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