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Folk taxonomies and folk theories: The case of Williams syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 1998

Susan C. Johnson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 [email protected]

Abstract

Work with people with Williams syndrome is reviewed relative to Atran's claim that the universality of taxonomic rank in the animal and plant domains derives from a biological construal of generic species. From this work it is argued that a biological construal of animals is not necessary for the construction of the adult taxonomy of animals and therefore that the existence of an animal (or plant) taxonomy cannot be taken as evidence of a biological domain.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press

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