Attention as a Scientific Cognitive Concept

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2021-03-22

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en

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Abstract

In the discussion on whether attention exists and what attention is, Wayne Wu argues for an overarching concept of attention as selection for action. Henry Taylor denies the possibility of such a monistic account of attention. In this article, I demonstrate that Taylor’s argumentation against both Wu’s theory specifically and attention monism in general does not hold. Additionally, I argue that Wu formulates what Jolien Francken and Marc Slors (2014) call a scientific cognitive concept (SCC) of attention – a specified concept consisting of sub-concepts based on operationalisations – which prevents mistranslation and generalisation of research data. Consequently, Wu provides a solution to the unclarity of the attention debate as well as a model for elucidating cognitive concepts.

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Faculteit der Filosofie, Theologie en Religiewetenschappen

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