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Single Idea 16370

[from 'Mental Files' by François Recanati, in 18. Thought / B. Mechanics of Thought / 5. Mental Files ]

Full Idea

I take a file to have a dual structure, with a 'nucleus' of the file consisting of information derived through the relevant epistemically rewarding relation, while the 'periphery' consists of information derived through linking with other files.

Gist of Idea

A file has a 'nucleus' through its relation to the object, and a 'periphery' of links to other files

Source

François Recanati (Mental Files [2012], 8.3)

Book Reference

Recanati,François: 'Mental Files' [OUP 2012], p.100


A Reaction

This sounds strikingly like essentialism to me, though what constitutes the essence is different from the usual explanatory basics. The link, though, is in the causal connection. If we naturally 'essentialise', that will control file-formation.

Related Ideas

Idea 15679 Essentialism comes from the cognitive need to categorise [Gelman]

Idea 15686 Labels may indicate categories which embody an essence [Gelman]