Editing Thought (section)

===Concept formation===
[[Concept]]s are general notions that constitute the fundamental building blocks of thought.<ref name="Margolis">{{cite web |last1= Margolis |first1=Eric |last2=Laurence |first2=Stephen |title=Concepts |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/concepts/ |website=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |access-date=28 September 2021 |date=2021}}</ref><ref name="BritannicaThoughtsAndAttitudes">{{cite web |title=Philosophy of mind – Thoughts and attitudes |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/philosophy-of-mind/Thoughts-and-attitudes |website= Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date= 16 October 2021 |language=en}}</ref> They are rules that govern how objects are sorted into different classes.<ref name="BritannicaConceptFormation">{{cite web |title=Concept formation |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/concept-formation |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=16 October 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Kazdin"/> A person can only think about a proposition if they possess the concepts involved in this proposition.<ref name="Fodor">{{cite journal |last1=Fodor |first1=Jerry |title=Having Concepts: A Brief Refutation of the Twentieth Century |journal=Mind and Language |date=2004 |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=29–47 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-0017.2004.00245.x |url=https://philpapers.org/rec/FODHCA}}</ref> For example, the proposition "[[wombat]]s are animals" involves the concepts "wombat" and "animal". Someone who does not possess the concept "wombat" may still be able to read the sentence but cannot entertain the corresponding proposition. Concept formation is a form of thinking in which new concepts are acquired.<ref name="Kazdin">{{cite book |editor1-last=Kazdin |editor1-first=Alan E. |title=Encyclopedia of Psychology |date=2000 |publisher=American Psychological Association |isbn=978-1-55798-187-5 |url=https://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4600100 |chapter=Thinking: An Overview}}</ref> It involves becoming familiar with the characteristic features shared by all instances of the corresponding type of entity and developing the ability to identify positive and negative cases. This process usually corresponds to learning the meaning of the word associated with the type in question.<ref name="BritannicaConceptFormation"/><ref name="Kazdin"/> There are various theories concerning how concepts and concept possession are to be understood.<ref name="Margolis"/> The use of [[metaphor]] may aid in the processes of concept formation.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Ortony
 |first1               = Andrew
 |editor-last1         = Ortony
 |editor-first1        = Andrew
 |date                 = 26 November 1993
 |orig-date            = 1979
 |chapter              = Metaphor, language, and thought
 |title                = Metaphor and Thought
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=QiJRvuXA_VcC
 |edition              = 2
 |publication-place    = Cambridge
 |publisher            = Cambridge University Press
 |page                 = 2
 |isbn                 = 9780521405614
 |access-date          = 21 February 2024
 |quote                = The constructivist approach seems to entail an important role for metaphor in both language and thought [...].
}} 
</ref>

According to one popular view, concepts are to be understood in terms of [[Ability#Concepts and concept possession |abilities]]. On this view, two central aspects characterize concept possession: the ability to discriminate between positive and negative cases and the ability to draw inferences from this concept to related concepts. Concept formation corresponds to acquiring these abilities.<ref name="Fodor"/><ref name="Weiskopf">{{cite journal |last1=Weiskopf |first1=Daniel A. |last2=Bechtel |first2=William |title=Remarks on Fodor on Having Concepts |journal=Mind and Language |date=2004 |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=48–56 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-0017.2004.00246.x |url=https://philpapers.org/rec/WEIROF}}</ref><ref name="Margolis"/> It has been suggested that animals are also able to learn concepts to some extent, due to their ability to discriminate between different types of situations and to adjust their behavior accordingly.<ref name="BritannicaConceptFormation"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Learning theory |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/learning-theory |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=16 October 2021 |language=en}}
</ref>