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Metacognition and Abstract Concepts

Citation: Shea, Nicholas (2018) Metacognition and Abstract Concepts. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B . ISSN 0962-8436

Shea_Metacogn_abs_conc_RSTB_drMar18.pdf

Creative Commons: Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0

The problem of how concepts can refer to or be about the non‐mental world is
particularly puzzling for abstract concepts. There is growing evidence that many
characteristics beyond the perceptual are involved in grounding different kinds of
abstract concept. A resource that has been suggested, but little explored, is
introspection. This paper develops that suggestion by focusing specifically on
metacognition—on the thoughts and feelings that thinkers have about a concept. One
example of metacognition about concepts is the judgement that we should defer to
others in how a given concept is used. Another example is our internal assessment of
which concepts are dependable and useful, and which less so. Metacognition of this
kind may be especially important for grounding abstract concepts.

Creators: Shea, Nicholas (0000-0002-2032-5705) and
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0133
Official URL: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rst...
Related URLs:
Subjects: Philosophy
Keywords: abstract concepts, grounding, linguistic labels, deference, metacognition, philosophy
Divisions: Institute of Philosophy
Dates:
  • 28 March 2018 (accepted)
  • 18 June 2018 (published)

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