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Relations between innate endowments, cognitive development, domain specificity, and a taxonomy-creator

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 1998

Adee Matan  and
Sidney Strauss
Adee Matan
Affiliation:
Unit of Human Development and Education, School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978 Israel adee@ccsg.tau.ac.il sidst@ccsg.tau.ac.il
Sidney Strauss
Affiliation:
Unit of Human Development and Education, School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978 Israel adee@ccsg.tau.ac.il sidst@ccsg.tau.ac.il
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Abstract

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Atran proposes that humans have a unique, innate, domain-specific tendency to create taxonomies of biological kinds. We show that: (1) in ontogenesis, children develop a notion Atran claims to be innate; (2) what Atran claims is unique to biological kinds may be found in artifact kinds; and (3) although Atran proposes a domain-specific mental construct for biological rank, it can be explained in domain-general terms.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 21 , Issue 4 , August 1998 , pp. 584
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press