This wide-ranging collection of essays is inspired by the memory of the cognitive psychologist John Macnamara, whose influential contributions to language and concept acquisition have provided the basis for numerous research programs. The areas covered by the essays include the foundations of language and thought, cognitive and linguistic development, and mathematical approaches to cognition.

Ray Jackendoff is Professor in the Program in Linguistics and Cognitive Science at Brandeis University. Paul Bloom and Karen Wynn are Associate Professors of Psychology at Yale University.