Found Sci
DOI 10.1007/s10699-015-9422-2
Points of View: A Conceptual Space Approach
Antti Hautamäki
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
Abstract Points of view are a central phenomenon in human cognition. Although the concept
of point of view is ambiguous, there exist common elements in different notions. A point of
view is a certain way to look at things around us. In conceptual points of view, things are
looked at or interpreted through conceptual lenses. Conceptual points of view are important
for epistemology, cognitive science, and philosophy of science. In this article, a new method
to formalize conceptual points of view is introduced. It is based on the conceptual space
approach, where concepts are regions of multi-dimensional quality spaces. Points of view,
as defined in this article, consist of a selection of relevant dimensions, referred to here as
determinables, and of a certain supposition, referred to here as a theory, about the subject
content. After considering some early efforts to formalize points of view, the notion of
conceptual space is defined and explored. One concept of point of view is defined and
developed in the framework of conceptual space, and a new logic for points of view is also
outlined. The problem of mind–body correlation is discussed as an example of the application
of the notion of points of view. To conclude, the meaning and applications of the new concepts
and tools developed in the article are discussed.
Keywords Conceptual space · Points of view · Logic · Determinables
1 Introduction: Many Kinds of Points of View
The term point of view is used in many different ways in everyday discussion. Literally taken,
it refers to the seeing position from which an object or a scene is viewed. But the term is
used also in a metaphorical sense. People say that somebody has his or her own point of view
A. Hautamäki (B )
Agora Center, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
e-mail: Antti.hautamaki@kolumbus.fi; Antti.e.hautamaki@jyu.fi
A. Hautamäki
The Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Arts, University of Helsinki,
P.O. Box 3, 00041 Helsinki, Finland
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