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Above and beyond “Above and beyond the concrete”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2020

Michael Gilead
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University, Beersheba84105, Israelmgilead@bgu.ac.il http://www.gileadlab.net/
Yaacov Trope
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY10003yaacov.trope@nyu.edu http://www.psych.nyu.edu/tropelab/
Nira Liberman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv69978, Israel.niralib@tauex.ac.il https://en-social-sciences.tau.ac.il/profile/niralib

Abstract

The commentaries address our view of abstraction, our ontology of abstract entities, and our account of predictive cognition as relying on relatively concrete simulation or relatively abstract theory-based inference. These responses revisit classic questions concerning mental representation and abstraction in the context of current models of predictive cognition. The counter arguments to our article echo: constructivist theories of knowledge, “neat” approaches in artificial intelligence and decision theory, neo-empiricist models of concepts, and externalist views of cognition. We offer several empirical predictions that address points of contention and that highlight the generative potential of our model.

Type
Authors' Response
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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