The Vernacular Concept of Innateness
Griffiths, Paul E. and Machery, Edouard and Linquist, Stefan (2008) The Vernacular Concept of Innateness.
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Abstract
The proposal that the concept of innateness expresses a ‘folk biological’ theory of the ‘inner natures’ of organisms was tested by examining the response of biologically naive participants to a series of realistic scenarios concerning the development of birdsong. Our results explain the intuitive appeal of existing philosophical analyses of the innateness concept. They simultaneously explain why these analyses are subject to compelling counterexamples. We argue that this explanation undermines the appeal of these analyses, whether understood as analyses of the vernacular concept or as explications of that concept for the purposes of science.
| Keywords: | Innateness human nature nativism folkbiology folk psychology |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | General Issues: Thought Experiments Specific Sciences: Psychology/Psychiatry Specific Sciences: Cognitive Science Specific Sciences: Biology: Developmental Biology Specific Sciences: Biology: Evolutionary Psychology |
| ID Code: | 4245 |
| Deposited By: | Griffiths, Paul Edmund |
| Deposited On: | 22 October 2008 |
Available Versions of this Item
- The Vernacular Concept of Innateness (deposited 16 June 2007)
- The Vernacular Concept of Innateness (deposited 22 October 2008) [Currently Displayed]