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Self-Organisation of Conceptual Spaces from Quality Dimensions

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Applications of Conceptual Spaces

Part of the book series: Synthese Library ((SYLI,volume 359))

Abstract

This chapter presents a discussion on how conceptual spaces can evolve from a set of quality dimensions, and how these spaces can become shared among a population of cognitive agents. An agent-based simulation of Steels’ Talking Heads experiment is presented in which virtual agents construct novel concepts, as well as a shared, simplified language from scratch. Simulations demonstrate that the structure of a conceptual space (i.e. from what quality dimensions it is composed) can evolve in a population of communicating agents. It is argued that the underlying mechanisms involve the following factors: the environment of the agents, their embodiment and cognitive capacities, self-organisation, and cultural transmission.

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Acknowledgements

The writing of this chapter was funded through a Vidi grant awarded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO, grant no. 276-70-018). I wish to thank Frank Zenker, Peter Gärdenfors and all participants of the Conceptual Spaces at Work symposium for their valuable contributions in discussing this research. Also, many thanks to Emiel Krahmer and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tilburg centre for Cognition and Communication, Tilburg University, 90153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Paul Vogt

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  1. Paul Vogt
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Correspondence to Paul Vogt .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy and Cognitive Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Frank Zenker

  2. Department of Philosophy and Cognitive Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Peter Gärdenfors

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Vogt, P. (2015). Self-Organisation of Conceptual Spaces from Quality Dimensions. In: Zenker, F., Gärdenfors, P. (eds) Applications of Conceptual Spaces. Synthese Library, vol 359. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15021-5_8

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