# EMERGENCE OF BIOLOGICAL THOUGHT

> **NIH NIH R01** · CORNELL UNIVERSITY · 1994 · $100,704

## Abstract

Biological thought is one of the best instances of the 'concepts in
theories' theme that has recently become so central to the study of
concept structure.  But the new consensus on the embedding of concept
structure in larger systems of causal-explanatory beliefs has not led to
a comparable consensus on how that embedding comes about.  A series of
studies will explore the emergence of biological concepts in childhood
with the general goal of better understanding how concepts and larger
systems of explanation become intertwined.  This goal leads to the
following questions:  do biological concepts initially emerge out of
other conceptual domains such as a naive psychology or mechanics, do they
emerge out of general associative processes with no initial influences
of other theoretical biases, or do they appear along yet another path?
Are there early influences on biological thought giving it a unique
character that perseveres from preschool years on through childhood and
into adulthood?  How should developmental changes in biological concepts
be described when invariant principles might also be present?  These
issues will be examined through a series of studies on a wide range of
biological phenomena including:  disease, inheritance, physiology and
kindhood.  Contrasts are drawn to superficially similar phenomena from
the domains of social regularities and physical mechanical laws.  It is
expected that:  1. young children will see common properties and
mechanisms among both animals and plants, suggesting an awareness of
living things based neither on absorption into other domains, nor on pre-
theoretical similarity relations, nor on animacy; 2. a small set of
common principles will reappear in domain after domain, suggesting a
unified conceptual approach to living things; 3. these distinctions serve
as principles that give unity and coherence to conceptual change in
biology; and 4. more general principles will be found concerning how
concepts emerge within larger sets of causal/explanatory beliefs.

Research of this sort relates to health in two ways.  First, by providing
insight into basic models of cognitive development, it helps us better
understand boundary conditions on the normal course of mental
development.  Second, since biological thought is the object of study,
insights gained will be relevant to issues concerning how both experts
and the general public understand bio-medical phenomena.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2199013
- **Project number:** 5R01HD023922-07
- **Recipient organization:** CORNELL UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** G56PUALJ3KT5
- **Principal Investigator:** FRANK C KEIL
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1994
- **Award amount:** $100,704
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1988-02-01 → 1998-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2199013

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2199013, EMERGENCE OF BIOLOGICAL THOUGHT (5R01HD023922-07). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2199013. Licensed CC0.

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