The Modularity of Mind / Edition 1

by Jerry A. Fodor

Overview

This study synthesizes current information from the various fields of cognitive science in support of a new and exciting theory of mind. Most psychologists study horizontal processes like memory and information flow; Fodor postulates a vertical and modular psychological organization underlying biologically coherent behaviors. This view of mental architecture is consistent with the historical tradition of faculty psychology while integrating a computational approach to mental processes. One of the most notable aspects of Fodor's work is that it articulates features not only of speculative cognitive architectures but also of current research in artificial intelligence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262560252
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	04/06/1983
Series:	A Bradford Book
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	158
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.31(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jerry A. Fodor is State of New Jersey Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University. He is the author of The Mind Doesn't Work That Way: The Scope and Limits of Computational Psychology (MIT Press) and other books.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
1 Four Accounts of Mental Structure
2 A Functional Taxonomy of Cognitive Mechanisms
3 Input Systems as Modules
4 Central Systems
5 Caveats and Conclusions
Notes
References

What People are Saying About This

John C. Marshall

Jerry Fodor's Modularity of Mind is a beginning... [It] is the first major monograph in this century to explore some variations on faculty psychology [and] is the best thing Fodor has done since The Language of Thought, mainly because it takes such a wide sweep and yet manages to concentrate all the arguments upon the central issue in both neuropsychology and information-processing psychology.

Endorsement

Jerry Fodor's Modularity of Mind is a beginning... [It] is the first major monograph in this century to explore some variations on faculty psychology [and] is the best thing Fodor has done since The Language of Thought, mainly because it takes such a wide sweep and yet manages to concentrate all the arguments upon the central issue in both neuropsychology and information-processing psychology.

—John C. Marshall, The Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford

From the Publisher

The issue Fodor writes about is central to the psychology of perception, cognition, and action. It is the central issue for anyone who would seriously study the neurobiology of behavior: Is the mind organized horizontally or vertically or both, and what are the consequences to psychology of proceeding on one assumption or the other? This has been little analyzed and written about. Jerry Fodor has repaired that omission and had done it brilliantly.

—Alvin Liberman, Yale University, President, Haskins Laboratories

Jerry Fodor's Modularity of Mind is a beginning... [It] is the first major monograph in this century to explore some variations on faculty psychology [and] is the best thing Fodor has done since The Language of Thought, mainly because it takes such a wide sweep and yet manages to concentrate all the arguments upon the central issue in both neuropsychology and information-processing psychology.

—John C. Marshall, The Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford

Alvin Liberman

The issue that Fodor writes about is central to the psychology of perception, cognition, and action. It is the central issue for anyone who would seriously consider the neurobiology of behavior.
— Professor Alvin Liberman, Yale University and President, Haskins Laboratory

Editorial Reviews

"Jerry Fodor's "Modularity of Mind "is a beginning ... [It] is the first major monograph in this century to explore some variations on faculty psychology [and] is the best thing Fodor has done since "The Language of Thought, "mainly because it takes such a wide sweep and yet manages to concentrate all the arguments upon the central issue in both neuropsychology and information-processing psychology."- John C. Marshall, The Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford,

"The issue Fodor writes about is central to the psychology of perception, cognition, and action. It is the central issue for anyone who would seriously study the neurobiology of behavior: Is the mind organized horizontally or vertically or both, and what are the consequences to psychology of proceeding on one assumption or the other? This has been little analyzed and written about. Jerry Fodor has repaired that omission and had done it brilliantly."- Alvin Liberman, Yale University, President, Haskins Laboratories

& quot; Jerry Fodor's Modularity of Mind is a beginning ... [It] is the first major monograph in this century to explore some variations on faculty psychology [and] is the best thing Fodor has done since The Language of Thought, mainly because it takes such a wide sweep and yet manages to concentrate all the arguments upon the central issue in both neuropsychology and information-processing psychology.& quot; - John C. Marshall, The Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford,

& quot; The issue Fodor writes about is central to the psychology of perception, cognition, and action. It is the central issue for anyone who would seriously study the neurobiology of behavior: Is the mind organized horizontally or vertically or both, and what are the consequences to psychology of proceeding on one assumption or the other? This has been little analyzed and written about. Jerry Fodor has repaired that omission and had done it brilliantly.& quot; - Alvin Liberman, Yale University, President, Haskins Laboratories

" Jerry Fodor's "Modularity of Mind "is a beginning ... [It] is the first major monograph in this century to explore some variations on faculty psychology [and] is the best thing Fodor has done since "The Language of Thought, "mainly because it takes such a wide sweep and yet manages to concentrate all the arguments upon the central issue in both neuropsychology and information-processing psychology." - John C. Marshall, The Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford,

" The issue Fodor writes about is central to the psychology of perception, cognition, and action. It is the central issue for anyone who would seriously study the neurobiology of behavior: Is the mind organized horizontally or vertically or both, and what are the consequences to psychology of proceeding on one assumption or the other? This has been little analyzed and written about. Jerry Fodor has repaired that omission and had done it brilliantly." - Alvin Liberman, Yale University, President, Haskins Laboratories

- Alvin Liberman, Yale University, President, Haskins Laboratories

- John C. Marshall, The Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford,

From the Publisher