E50: the preferred level of abstraction (a nugget)
Update: 2025-06-07
Description
We see a creature near us, and we describe it as a dog. Why that and not "mammal" or "animal"? And if that dog's a Springer Spaniel, and we know it's a Springer Spaniel, why do we nevertheless call it a "dog"?
In an apparent digression, I discuss the idea in cognitive science of a "basic level of categorization" (or abstraction). While we construct hierarchies and taxonomies, we tend to operate at one specific level: one that's not too abstract and not too concrete.
Sources
- George Lakoff, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind, 1987.
- Gregory L. Murphy, The Big Book of Concepts, 2002.
- Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow, 2024.
Credits
The image of the dog and cat is via https://fondosymas.blogspot.com. It is licensed as Reconocimiento-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 3.0 España.
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