What is a concept? Philosophy, cognitive science, psychology, logic, and AI have long been inquiring into this question. However, answers rarely converge.
The question of how humans represent and combine concepts has become increasingly relevant to AI. Despite advancements in Large Language Models and statistical models generally, the goal of developing formal representations of human thinking remains as crucial as ever. Cognitive models of human conceptualisation are of pivotal importance for AI and Knowledge Representation. Nevertheless, such models often lack proper formalisation, which makes it difficult to capture them precisely in computational systems. At the same time, the cognitive adequacy of computational systems is frequently overlooked in favour of better performance.
This book, Combining Concepts - Integrating Logical and Cognitive Theories of Concepts, bridges the gap between computational and cognitive models of concepts. The author explores the relationship between conceptual combination, the associated cognitive phenomena, and standard logical operators. The book introduces a representation of concepts motivated by the literature in cognitive psychology, combining ontological analysis, logical methods, and insights from statistical learning to offer a more cognitively grounded approach to modelling concepts and concept combination in Knowledge Representation and AI. It thus contributes to the development of hybrid AI modelling techniques, bridging learning and reasoning, and ensuring that they are theoretically sound, cognitively adequate, psychologically motivated, and practically applicable.
Offering a thorough exploration of concepts and concept combinations as they relate to current applications, the book will be of interest to all those working in the fields of AI and Knowledge Representation.
