Apes and infants point to an empty location to request more of its previous content..Requests depend on the quality of a visible alternative compared to the absent object. First evidence that apes and infants are specific in their requests of absent entities.
We examine the role of sortal concepts in how adults identify and individuate physical objects. • We find that sortals do not determine when an object is no longer identical to an earlier one. • We also find that sortals do not provide determinate conditions for individuating objects.