This paper examines the interplay between conceptual structure and the evolution of scientific concepts, arguing that concepts are fundamentally ‘forward-looking’ constructs. Drawing on empirical studies of similarity and categorization, I explicate the way in which the conceptual taxonomy highlights the ‘relevant respects’ for similarity judgments involved in categorization. I then propose that this taxonomy provides some of the cognitive underpinnings of the ongoing development of scientific concepts. I use the concept synapse to illustrate my proposal, showing how conceptual taxonomy both facilitates and constrains the accommodation of newly discovered phenomena. I end by briefly considering the implications of the proposed approach for a normative evaluation of scientific concepts.

本文研究了概念结构与科学概念的演进之间的相互作用，认为概念从根本上说是“前瞻性”构造。通过对相似性和分类的实证研究，我阐述了概念分类法强调分类涉及的相似性判断的“相关方面”的方式。然后，我建议这种分类法为科学概念的不断发展提供了一些认知基础。我使用概念突触来说明我的建议，展示概念分类法如何促进和限制新发现现象的适应。最后，我简要地考虑了提议的方法对科学概念的规范评估的意义。