The Perspectives Of A Representational Theory Of Mind

The argument from analogy is an inductive argument that focuses on the problem of other minds and aims to show that we are justified in inferring the existence of other minds. British philosopher, Bertrand Russell, describes the argument from analogy as follows: “The behaviour of other people is in many ways analogous to our own, and we suppose that it must have analogous causes. What people say is what we should say if we had certain thoughts, and so we infer that they probably have these thoughts. They give us information which we can sometimes subsequently verify” (Russell, “Analogy”, p89). Norman Malcolm argues that the argument from analogy does poorly in its attempts to show that we are justified in inferring the existence of other minds. In assessing whether the argument from analogy succeeds in its aims, I will raise and respond to Malcolm’s objection against the argument from analogy; Austrian-born British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein’s ‘Beetle in a Box’ thought experiment; as well as Welsh philosopher H. H. Price’s argument and English philosopher Stuart Hampshire’s argument in defence of the argument from analogy.

The idea that mental states are non-reducible properties of brain states is the central tenant of a theory of mind called property dualism. However, before we can assess the theory we must be aware that the question assumes the existence of mental states and as such we cannot answer this question from some perspectives (e.g. eliminative materialism)

Harris, P. L. (1991). The work of the imagination. In A. Whiten (Ed.), Natural theories of mind (pp. 283-304). Oxford, England: Blackwell.

The main assumption of the biological approach is behaviour and experiences can be explained by biological changes in the body. This approach focusses on the investigation of the brain, nervous system and other biological factors such as hormones; whereas the main assumption of the cognitive approach is that information received from our senses is processed by the brain and that this processing influences how we behave or at least justifies how we behave the way we do. Cognitive processes are examples of hypothetical constructs – researchers cannot directly observe processes such as thinking but we can infer what a person is thinking based on how they act (behavioural patterns). Some key researchers in the biological approach are Maguire et. Al (2000) - Navigation-related structural changes in the hippocampi of taxi drivers, and Sperry (1968) - Hemisphere disconnection and unity in consciousness. Some key researchers in the cognitive approach are Loftus and Palmer (1974) - eyewitness testimony and Baron-Cohen (1997) – Autism.

How words are interpreted by the mind and effect it has – although this is not explicitly stated, could link to Carter’s distinction between pattern reforming and pattern reinforcing; and pattern reforming could change the way we look at things and support new

Actions may be influenced by many different things. Many times, Society and the opinions of others are greatly influential. Other times, internal motivations are the guiding force. This fight between external and internal motivation is explored by Jane Austen in her novel Persuasion. She uses theory of mind and free indirect discourse to argue that internal motivations are better guides than persuasion from society, family, or any other outside force.

Need for cognition (NFC) is in reference to a person’s predisposition to participate in or appreciate particular activities that require using one’s brain. As it was primarily presented by Cohen (1955) it was brought back into fame by John Cacioppo and Richard Petty (1982). Cohen et al described the need for cognition as “a need to structure relevant situations in meaningful, integrated ways. It is a need to understand and make reasonable the experimental world”. (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982) However, Cacioppo and Petty had a different outlook on the NFC.

It has been suggested that there is a strong link between EF and Theory of Mind (ToM; Moses & Carlson, 2004). ToM is the ability to infer other people’s mental states, such as intentions, thought, feelings, and beliefs (Baron-Cohen, 1988). Neuroimaging studies have indicated that prefrontal cortex is involved in thinking about mental states (e.g., Amodio & Frith, 2006; Frith & Frith, 2003; Sabbagh & Taylor, 2000; Siegal & Varley, 2002). It was well documented that individuals with ASD have deficits in both ToM and EF (e.g., McEvoy, Rogers, & Pennington, 1993; Pellicano, 2010; Russell, 1997; Zelazo, Jacques, Burack, & Frye, 2002). Individuals with ASD have deficits in ToM tasks and perform worse on ToM tasks than

Cognitive phenomenology is the theory that in our minds there are greater, non-sensory thoughts occurring. Though most people accept sensory phenomenology, many question or deny the idea of cognitive phenomenology. In this essay, I will argue that there is such a thing as cognitive thinking that is completely unrelated to our regular senses. I will discuss the theories and arguments suggested by Strawson, and Bayne and Montague and also provide objections given by Prinz and respond to these objections. With this theory, I plan to argue that cognitive phenomenology is separate and distinct and can occur independently of our senses.

This book focused on the theory that the human mind has two “characters”, which Kaheman classifies as “System 1” and “System 2”. System 1 thinks fast, automatically, instinctively, and involuntarily. This is exemplified by things people do daily, such as interpreting facial expressions, driving somewhere familiar, or reading a clock. System 2 requires more thought, slower, concentration, and voluntary deliberate action. Examples of System 2 are difficult math problems,

Cognition plays a very important role in a person’s life. Cognition can be simply put as the mental capacities, associated to how humans can acquire, store, and retrieve information. In other words, cognition can be portrayed as something a person can recognize, understand, and feel. During class, we came across Dorothy Dinnerstien’s seven features of human cognition, which are; motivated, flexibly focused, structured, layered, affectively tinged, self-reflective, and social which has helped us understand the impact of cognition on our daily lives. We have seen illustrations of these seven features by watching the movies; The Wild Child, The Pawnbroker, and Dr. Strangelove and by reading the articles “On Memory and Childhood Amnesia,” “The Transformation of Man”, and “Reflections: Prologue of Our Time.” By watching those three films and reading those three articles, we have come to realize the influence of socialization on our development as a human being.

This approach simply assumes that the human being is a processor of information just in a similar way like the computer. Information processing approach to cognitive psychology sees the mind as an information processors and that is possible and desirable to study the internal processes that lie between the environmental stimuli and the response individuals give to it. This approach argues that information made

Before analyzing how a player’s embodiment of an avatar and its interactions with the virtual world have an affect on the player’s mind, one must first accept and understand how the mind is affected by the interactions of the player’s body and the physical world around it. In Margaret Wilson’s article, “Six Views of Embodied Cognition”, she distinguishes and evaluates six claims on embodied cognition to substantiate the theory of how the body serves the mind. The claims are as follows: first “cognition is situated” (Wilson 2002, 626), second “cognition is time pressured” (Wilson 2002, 627), third “we off-load cognitive work onto the environment” (Wilson 2002, 628), fourth “the environment is part of the cognitive system” (Wilson 2002, 629), fifth claim is that “cognition is for action” (Wilson 2002, 631), and sixth “off-line cognition is body based” (Wilson 2002, 633). These claims help describe different ways embodied cognition works in the real world. Each can be compared to similar situations encountered in modern video games.

Internal and external representations are part of the process involve in learning. However, the process of turning these representations into knowledge is nebulous. How is an internal representation turned into knowledge? What are the mental processes that are involved in attaching a meaning to a picture, a map, a graph? How are internal representations transformed to external representation and turned into knowledge? We are going to examine the relationship between internal and external representation and also how it affects learner and learning.

In this chapter, I would like to express the idea of how human cognition works, since my conception of learning is fundamentally centered on mental activities that create and construct knowledge by dynamic integrations with the world. Prior to describing my view of how human cognition works, I