On perception as the basis for object concepts: a critical analysis

Within cognitive and developmental psychology it is commonly argued that perception is the basis for object concepts. According to this view, sensory experiences would translate into concepts as a result of the recognition, correlation and integration of physical attributes. Once attributes are integrated into general patterns, subjects would become able to parse objects into categories. In this article, we critically review the three epistemological perspectives according to which can be claimed that object concepts depend on perception: state non-conceptualism, content non-conceptualism, and content conceptualism. We show the three perspectives have problems that make perception inadequate as a conceptual basis. We suggest that the inquiry about the origin and development of object concepts can benefit from a pragmatic perspective that considers objects’ cultural functions as a conceptual foundation. We address this possibility from the theoretical framework of the pragmatics of the object, considering the importance of objects’ functional permanence.