Causal Explanations, Causal Determinism
Causal Explanations, Causal Determinism
People appeal to hidden, nonobvious features in constructing certain categories. The question that arises is: why should this be? The essentialist position proposes that causes are more important than effects — and causes are more internal, hidden, nonobvious than are effects (at least for natural kinds). This chapter argues for the centrality of causes in children—s concepts by showing that children's understanding of cause can determine which features are pivotal in the categories they form, and that children's explanations for category structure appeal to essences or essence-like constructs. It is also suggested that the link between essences and categories follows from children's propensity to search for causes.
Keywords: essentialism, children, child psychology, categories, causes
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
