“Accordingly, the unprepossessing term ‘‘concept’’ can sometimes play tricks upon any of us, even the most determinatively ‘‘unphilosophical.’’ In virtually every subject matter, seemingly plausible assumptions about the working basis of innocent-looking words are capable of sending able investigators scampering away on the most quixotic of projects; folks who otherwise appear as if they haven’t a trace of ontological hankering in their bones. These misadventures do not trace to errant academic thinking; instead, there lie seeds deeply planted within the humblest forms of everyday thought that stand ready to sprout great globs of undesirable foliage if supplied the least encouragement. No husbandry from formal philosophy is required at all; misguided forms of conceptual appeal will readily blossom of their own accord. Like it or not, all of us must tacitly turn ‘‘philosopher’’ at certain stages in our endeavors and this is very much part of the story I wish to tell in this book.”