Connections and Symbols (Cognition Special Issue) [Paperback]

Steven Pinker (Editor), Thomas G. Bever (Editor), Jerry A. Fodor (Editor), Joel Lachter (Editor), Jacques Mehler (Editor), Alan Prince (Editor), Zenon W. Pylyshyn (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Cognition Special Issues | Publication Date: June 20, 1988

Does intelligence result from the manipulation of structured symbolic expressions? Or is it the result of the activation of large networks of densely interconnected simple units? Connections and Symbols provides the first systematic analysis of the explosive new field of Connectionism that is challenging the basic tenets of cognitive science.These lively discussions by Jerry A. Fodor, Zenon W. Pylyshyn, Steven Pinker, Alan Prince, Joel Lechter, and Thomas G. Bever raise issues that lie at the core of our understanding of how the mind works: Does connectionism offer it truly new scientific model or does it merely cloak the old notion of associationism as a central doctrine of learning and mental functioning? Which of the new empirical generalizations are sound and which are false? And which of the many ideas such as massively parallel processing, distributed representation, constraint satisfaction, and subsymbolic or microfeatural analyses belong together, and which are logically independent?Now that connectionism has arrived with full-blown models of psychological processes as diverse as Pavlovian conditioning, visual recognition, and language acquisition, the debate is on. Common themes emerge from all the contributors to Connections and Symbols: criticism of connectionist models applied to language or the parts of cognition employing language like operations; and a focus on what it is about human cognition that supports the traditional physical symbol system hypothesis. While criticizing many aspects of connectionist models, the authors also identify aspects of cognition that could he explained by the connectionist models.Steven Pinker is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Co-Director of, the Center for Cognitive Science at MIT. Connections and Symbols is included in the Cognition Special Issue series, edited by Jacques Mehler.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steven Pinker is Harvard College Professor and Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 255 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 1st MIT Press ed edition (June 20, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262660644
• ISBN-13: 978-0262660648
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,374,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven Pinker is one of the world's leading authorities on language and the mind. His popular and highly praised books include The Stuff of Thought, The Blank Slate, Words and Rules, How the Mind Works, and The Language Instinct. The recipient of several major awards for his teaching, books, and scientific research, Pinker is Harvard College Professor and Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He also writes frequently for The New York Times, Time, The New Republic, and other magazines.