The human gift of language is unique. It allows us to efficiently convey our experiences and thoughts to others by referring to concepts that others recognize and share. In order to obtain a thorough description of the unique cognitive processes behind our conceptual lives as human adults, we need to understand the relation between the child’s perception of the world and the formation of concepts. However, in spite of a monumental data production by developmental researchers, there is crucial theoretical disagreement regarding the very nature of percepts and concepts. The present paper discusses the central literature on this topic, and due to the very divergent findings the author proposes a future approach to the perception – conception debate based on complementarity. It is contended that such an approach may bring us closer to a viable “concept of concepts”, one that is facilitative for a specification of the particularly human conceptual world. A more comprehensive knowledge of our conceptual lives and the developmental dependence on social factors such as shared intentionality and linguistic labeling could potentially provide us with a more detailed knowledge of what set us apart from other species.

Target article
Osman Kingo: The Concept of Concepts: Perceptual and Conceptual Categorization in Infancy under Scrutiny

Commentaries
Peter Krøjgaard: Infant Categorization and the Principle of Complementary.
Jens Mammen: What is a Concept?
Katherine Nelson: Concept, Word and Meaning in Brief Historical Context.
Sabina Pauen & Birgit Träuble: How to investigate the Concept of Concepts.

Reply
Osman Kingo: Complementarity in the Study of Concept Formation.