The Systematicity Arguments

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

   PDF

2. The Structure of Cognitive Representations

   • Kenneth Aizawa

   Pages 1-18

3. Some History and Philosophy of Science

   • Kenneth Aizawa

   Pages 19-41

4. The Productivity of Thought

   • Kenneth Aizawa

   Pages 43-55

5. The Systematicity of Inference

   • Kenneth Aizawa

   Pages 57-90

6. The Systematicity of Cognitive Representations

   • Kenneth Aizawa

   Pages 91-115

7. The Compositionality of Representations

   • Kenneth Aizawa

   Pages 117-149

8. The Systematicity Arguments Applied to Connectionism

   • Kenneth Aizawa

   Pages 151-174

9. Functional Combinatorialism

   • Kenneth Aizawa

   Pages 175-205

10. An Alternative Cognitive Architecture

    • Kenneth Aizawa

    Pages 207-223

11. Taking the Brain Seriously

    • Kenneth Aizawa

    Pages 225-241

12. Putting Matters in Perspective

    • Kenneth Aizawa

    Pages 243-248

13. Back Matter

    Pages 249-255

    PDF

This book addresses a part of a problem. The problem is to determine the architecture of cognition, that is, the basic structures and mechanisms underlying cognitive processing. This is a multidimensional problem insofar as there appear to be many distinct types of mechanisms that interact in diverse ways during cognitive processing. Thus, we have memory, attention, learning, sensation, perception, and who knows what else, interacting to produce behavior. As a case in point, consider a bit of linguistic behavior. To tell a friend that I think Greg won a stunning victory, I must evidently rely on various bits of information stored in my memory, including who my friends are, who Greg is, what he won, and what natural languages I share with my friend. I must sense and perceive that my friend is within hearing distance, how loud I need to speak, how loud I am speaking, and whether my friend is paying attention. I must avail myself of what I know about the language I share with my friend, along with innumerable principles about human "folk psychology. " This book does not address the full range of contemporary theorizing about cognitive architecture, but only a part. It addresses theories of cognitive architecture that hypothesize that there exist cognitive representations, then begins to explore the possible structure of these representations. One of the leading hypotheses concerning the structure of cognitive representations is that it is akin to that found in symbolic logic.

• Connectionism
• Thought
• cognitive science
• mind
• philosophy

"Aizawa makes an important contribution to the debate over whether a connectionist architecture can explain the systematicity of thought without implementing a classical architecture. His discussion blows away many pockets of unclarity in the literature on this issue."
(Brian McLaughlin, Ph.D., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)

• Centenary College of Louisiana, USA

  Kenneth Aizawa

Policies and ethics