I’ve always assumed it’s a reference to the prototype theory of concepts, which holds that for each concept, there’s some instance of it that feels more typical or “central” than others. E.g. dogs and cats feel like more central members of the category “pet” than alligators do. Wikipedia (emphasis added):
Prototype theory is a theory of categorization in cognitive science, particularly in psychology and cognitive linguistics, in which there is a graded degree of belonging to a conceptual category, and some members are more central than others.
I see. I just searched for “central example” on the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and it pops up there in tons of results too. Although there still isn’t e.g. a page called “Central Example”.
I’ve always assumed it’s a reference to the prototype theory of concepts, which holds that for each concept, there’s some instance of it that feels more typical or “central” than others. E.g. dogs and cats feel like more central members of the category “pet” than alligators do. Wikipedia (emphasis added):
I see. I just searched for “central example” on the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and it pops up there in tons of results too. Although there still isn’t e.g. a page called “Central Example”.