Most theories of concepts take concepts to be structured bodies of information used in categorization and inference. This paper argues for a version of atomism, on which concepts are unstructured symbols. However, traditional Fodorian atomism is falsified by polysemy and fails to provide an account of how concepts figure in cognition. This paper argues that concepts are generative pointers, that is, unstructured symbols that point to memory locations where cognitively useful bodies of information are stored and can be deployed to resolve polysemy. The notion of generative pointers allows for unresolved ambiguity in thought and provides a basis for conceptual engineering.

中文翻译：

---

一词多义和思想：走向概念生成理论

大多数概念理论都将概念视为用于分类和推理的结构化信息主体。本文主张一种原子论的版本，在该版本上概念是非结构化的符号。但是，传统的Fodorian原子论由于多义性而被伪造，无法说明概念在认知中是如何形成的。本文认为，概念是生成指针，即非结构化符号，指向存储有认知有用信息体并可以用来解决多义性的存储位置。生成指针的概念允许思想中未解决的歧义，并为概念工程提供基础。