Open texture and the reconsideration of the structure of concepts

Abstract In this paper, I argue that it is possible to understand Waismann’s notion of open texture through the paradigm of prototype theory stemming from cognitive linguistics. Indeed, prototype theory conceives concepts as functioning according to a prototype whose concrete application remains indeterminate and flexible. Prototype theory entails thus the possibility that cases that challenge the familiar use of a concept may be encountered in experience, which is precisely at stake with the notion of open texture. At the same time, prototype theory explains the creative dimension of human language that is also mentioned by Waismann: human language is creative precisely because its concepts are flexible and have subsequently the capacity of expressing new types of experience. This new perspective on the notion of open texture presents a double interest. First, it allows highlighting the innovative scope of this notion, since it shows that it has the potential to challenge traditional theories of concepts, which consider concepts as a set of characteristics. Second, it opens the possibility for an extension of the notion of open texture to most if not to all concepts. Several research works have been carried out in this direction. Reconsidering open texture through prototype theory offers a new theoretical tool for this purpose: proving that other, non-empirical concepts also function according to prototypes would indeed prove that open texture is an essential feature of most if not all concepts.