The Epistemic Role of Core Cognition

2020 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe Jenkin
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Picture Perception ◽  
Epistemic Status ◽  
Object Representations ◽  
Basing Relation ◽  
The Core ◽  
Core Cognition ◽  
Epistemic Role

According to a traditional picture, perception and belief have starkly different epistemic roles. Beliefs have epistemic statuses as justified or unjustified, depending on how they are formed and maintained. In contrast, perceptions are “unjustified justifiers.” Core cognition is a set of mental systems that stand at the border of perception and belief, and has been extensively studied in developmental psychology. Core cognition's borderline states do not fit neatly into the traditional epistemic picture. What is the epistemic role of these states? Focusing on the core object system, the author argues that core object representations have epistemic statuses like beliefs do, despite their many prototypically perceptual features. First, the author argues that it is a sufficient condition on a mental state's having an epistemic status as justified or unjustified that the state is based on reasons. Then the author argues that core object representations are based on reasons, through an examination of both experimental results and key markers of the basing relation. The scope of mental states that are subject to epistemic evaluation as justified or unjustified is not restricted to beliefs.

The developmental role of experience-based metacognition for cultural diversity in executive function, motivation, and mindreading

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athanasios Chasiotis
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Cultural Variations ◽  
Developmental Relationship ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Relationship

How children obtain an understanding of mental states in others—“mindreading” or “theory of mind” (ToM)—during their cognitive development is a major concern in developmental psychology. There is also much debate about and empirical research on the developmental relationship between ToM and the set of processes that monitor and control thoughts and actions, i.e., executive functioning (EF). Until recently, little was known about the cross-cultural variation of both concepts. This chapter presents empirical findings on these concepts and takes a metacognitive perspective to clarify their relationship. A series of cross-cultural studies have been undertaken to specify the relationship between EF and ToM by verifying assumptions about the quality of conflict inhibition necessary for the development of ToM’s key aspect, false-belief understanding. The main argument is that an experience-based view of the metacognitive mechanisms involved might give a more parsimonious explanation of their relationship and their cultural variations.

scholarly journals Enigmatic epistemic things

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Solberg
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Research ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Initial Phase ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
The Core ◽  
Experimental Systems ◽  
Epistemic Role ◽  
Oriented Approach ◽  
Artistic Research

The aim of this article is to discuss epistemology, focusing on the epistemic role of artwork in research projects. Porcelaneous is the initial phase of a three-year artistic research project with an artistic component comprising the making of porcelain boards. The  porcelain boards and the making process in this initial phase are used as examples from practice. At the core of the epistemological discussion is Hans-Jörg Rheinberger’s theory on experimental systems and epistemic things. Rheinberger advocates for an objective and practice-oriented approach rather than a theoretical approach to experimental research. In his setting, epistemic things are material. This article has concluded that Rheinberger’s theory is about attitudes rather than research methods and that this attitude to epistemological questions is relevant for artistic research.

scholarly journals MEMORY COMPATIBILISM: PRESERVING AND GENERATING POSITIVE EPISTEMIC STATUS

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (143) ◽  
pp. 457-481
Author(s):  
Tiegue Vieira Rodrigues
Keyword(s):  
Epistemic Status ◽  
The Status ◽  
Epistemological Debate ◽  
Epistemic Role

ABSTRACT The contemporary epistemological debate regarding the epistemic role of memory is dominated by the dispute between two different views: memory preservationism and memory generativism. While the former holds that memory only preserves the epistemic status already acquired through another source, the latter advocates that there are situations where memory can function as a generative epistemic source. Both views are problematic and have to deal with important objections. In this paper, I suggest a novel argument for granting memory the status of a generative source of justification and knowledge that overcomes objections raised for both preservationism and generativism. I shall call this view Memory Compatibilism. I argue that the proposed view better explains the generative epistemic character of memory.

Learning Object Representations Using A Priori Constraints Within ORASSYLL

2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norbert Krüger
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Statistical Evaluation ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Feature Space ◽  
Recognition System ◽  
Object Representations ◽  
Complex Scenes ◽  
Bias Variance

In this article, a biologically plausible and efficient object recognition system (called ORASSYLL) is introduced, based on a set of a priori constraints motivated by findings of developmental psychology and neuro-physiology. These constraints are concerned with the organization of the input in local and corresponding entities, the interpretation of the input by its transformation in a highly structured feature space, and the evaluation of features extracted from an image sequence by statistical evaluation criteria. In the context of the bias-variance dilemma, the functional role of a priori knowledge within ORASSYLL is discussed. In contrast to systems in which object representations are defined manually, the introduced constraints allow an autonomous learning from complex scenes.

Introspection

2019 ◽  
pp. 153-191
Author(s):  
Declan Smithies
Keyword(s):  
Mental States ◽  
Simple Theory ◽  
Epistemic Rationality ◽  
Self Knowledge ◽  
Epistemic Role

Chapter 5 explores the epistemic role of consciousness in introspection. Section 5.1 presents a simple theory of introspection, which says that some mental states provide introspective justification that puts you in a position to know with certainty that you’re in those mental states. Section 5.2 defends the simple theory against Eric Schwitzgebel’s arguments for the unreliability of introspection. Section 5.3 motivates the simple theory on the grounds that it explains a plausible connection between epistemic rationality and introspective self-knowledge. Section 5.4 argues that all and only phenomenally individuated mental states fall within the scope of the simple theory of introspection. Section 5.5 explores the role of consciousness in explaining our introspective knowledge of what we believe. Section 5.6 concludes with some pessimism about the prospects for explaining the connection between consciousness and introspection in more basic terms.

Mentalism

2019 ◽  
pp. 192-220
Author(s):  
Declan Smithies
Keyword(s):  
Epistemic Justification ◽  
Phenomenal Consciousness ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Evil Demon ◽  
Problem Section ◽  
Epistemic Role ◽  
New Evil Demon Problem

Chapter 6 develops a theory of epistemic justification designed to capture the epistemic role of phenomenal consciousness: namely, phenomenal mentalism. Section 6.1 defines epistemic justification within the framework of evidentialism. Section 6.2 defines mentalism about epistemic justification and explores its connection with evidentialism. Section 6.3 argues for phenomenal mentalism, the thesis that epistemic justification is determined solely by your phenomenally individuated mental states, by appealing to intuitions about clairvoyance, super-blindsight, and the new evil demon problem. Section 6.4 argues for a phenomenal conception of evidence, which says that your evidence is exhausted by facts about your current phenomenally individuated mental states, and defends it against Timothy Williamson’s arguments for the E = K thesis. Finally, section 6.5 outlines an explanatory challenge for phenomenal mentalism, which sets the agenda for the second part of the book.

scholarly journals Key psychological issues in the study of religion

Psihologija ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-363
Author(s):  
Olivera Petrovic
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Anthropology Of Religion ◽  
Psychological Study ◽  
Psychological Issues ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Current Article ◽  
Definition Of

The current article considers the role of scientific (experimental) psychology in the study of religion and argues that many of the questions central to the history, sociology and anthropology of religion are often psychological and hence require the use of appropriate psychological methods. Psychological study of religion differs from those other disciplines by virtue of its (a) definition of religion (in terms of individual mental states rather than culturally transmitted teachings and socially acquired behaviors), (b) methods of research (designed to elicit and examine relevant mental states), and (c) explanatory aims (concerned with the origin and development of specific cognitive events). Whilst the distinction between individual and social origin of concepts is central to psychological accounts of religion, non-psychological accounts of religion actually dwell on an interaction between the two. It is further argued that some of the key issues in the study of religion -- origin of religious concepts, core religious beliefs, and universality of religious beliefs -- can be most adequately tackled within the framework of cognitive developmental psychology. Possible explanations are suggested for hitherto insufficient involvement of those psychological approaches in the study of religion. .

ІНТЕРПРЕТАЦІЯ КАТЕГОРІЇ РОЗВИТКУ В СУЧАСНІЙ ПСИХОЛОГІЇ

1970 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-30
Author(s):  
Анжеліка Шамне
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Structure And Dynamics ◽  
Modern Psychology ◽  
Development Site ◽  
Approaches To Study ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Self Motion

У статті розглянуто сучасні підходи до інтерпретації категорії розвитку, розкрито теоретичні  та методологічні підходи до вивчення категорії розвитку у сучасній психології, визначено її психологічний  зміст,   моделі,   структуру   та   динаміку.   Категорія   розвитку   розглядається   як   епіцентр   наукової  проблематики у психології та як поняття інтегративного типу. Розвиток проаналізовано як категорію,  явище і проблему психології розвитку в різних аспектах аналізу. Розглянуто місце розвитку в системі  споріднених психологічних понять. У статті також аналізуються психологічні аспекти теоретичних та  методологічних  постнекласичних  тенденцій  вивчення  природи,  характеру  та  визначення  психічного  розвитку. Постнекласична парадигма та плюралістична методологія пізнання визначають розмитість  дисциплінарної мови  та  врахування  ролі  соціокультурного  контексту  при  вивченні  психологічних явищ.  Важливими тенденціями сучасного теоретико-методологічного стану психологічних досліджень розвитку  також є визнання неефективності моністичного підходу до його вивчення, взаємозв'язок теоретичних ідей  та   спроби   створення   метатеоретичних   схем,   постнекласичне   розуміння   розвитку   як   принципово  незавершеного   процесу   саморуху,   актуалізація   антропологічного   діапазону   проблем   та   посилення  спрямованості на роль культурного контексту в дослідженні розвитку людини.  The article deals with the modern approaches to the interpretation of the category of development, reveals  the theoretical and methodological approaches to study of development in modern psychology, its psychological  content, patterns, structure and dynamics. Category of development is viewed as an epicenter of scientific issues in  modern  psychology  and  the  concept  of  the  integrative  type.  Category  of  development  is  considered  as  the  phenomenon  and  the  problem  of  developmental  psychology  in  various  aspects  of  the  analysis.  Analyzed  the  development site in the related psychological concepts. The article analyzes the psychological aspects of theoretical  and methodological postnonclassical contemporary trends in the study of nature, character, and determination of  mental  development.  Postnonclassical  paradigm  and  pluralistic  methodology  of  knowledge  determine  the  disciplinary blurring and increase of the role of the analysis of socio-cultural context in the study of psychological  phenomenon. The important tendencies of modern theoretical and methodological state of psychological researches  of development are facts of inefficiency of the monistic approach to its study, interconnection of theoretical ideas  and   attempts   of  creating   metatheoretical   schemes,   postnonclassical   understanding   of   development   as   a  fundamentally  uncompleted  process  of  self-motion,  actualization  of  anthropological  range  of  problems  and  strengthening of focus on the role of cultural context in research of human development.   

Aboutness

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Yablo
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Library Science ◽  
Philosophical Methodology ◽  
Major Advance ◽  
Truth Conditions ◽  
Ways Of Being ◽  
Made In

Aboutness has been studied from any number of angles. Brentano made it the defining feature of the mental. Phenomenologists try to pin down the aboutness features of particular mental states. Materialists sometimes claim to have grounded aboutness in natural regularities. Attempts have even been made, in library science and information theory, to operationalize the notion. However, it has played no real role in philosophical semantics, which is surprising. This is the first book to examine through a philosophical lens the role of subject matter in meaning. A long-standing tradition sees meaning as truth conditions, to be specified by listing the scenarios in which a sentence is true. Nothing is said about the principle of selection—about what in a scenario gets it onto the list. Subject matter is the missing link here. A sentence is true because of how matters stand where its subject matter is concerned. This book maintains that this is not just a feature of subject matter, but its essence. One indicates what a sentence is about by mapping out logical space according to its changing ways of being true or false. The notion of content that results—directed content—is brought to bear on a range of philosophical topics, including ontology, verisimilitude, knowledge, loose talk, assertive content, and philosophical methodology. The book represents a major advance in semantics and the philosophy of language.

Does a Ribosome Really Read? On the Cognitive Roots and Heuristic Value of Linguistic Metaphors in Molecular Genetics. Part 2

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 46-62
Author(s):  
Suren T. Zolyan
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Genetic Information ◽  
Formal Organization ◽  
Dual Nature ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
The Core ◽  
Genetic Information Processing ◽  
Cognitive Frame ◽  
Effective Instrument

We discuss the role of linguistic metaphors as a cognitive frame for the understanding of genetic information processing. The essential similarity between language and genetic information processing has been recognized since the very beginning, and many prominent scholars have noted the possibility of considering genes and genomes as texts or languages. Most of the core terms in molecular biology are based on linguistic metaphors. The processing of genetic information is understood as some operations on text – writing, reading and editing and their specification (encoding/decoding, proofreading, transcription, translation, reading frame). The concept of gene reading can be traced from the archaic idea of the equation of Life and Nature with the Book. Thus, the genetics itself can be metaphorically represented as some operations on text (deciphering, understanding, code-breaking, transcribing, editing, etc.), which are performed by scientists. At the same time linguistic metaphors portrayed gene entities also as having the ability of reading. In the case of such “bio-reading” some essential features similar to the processes of human reading can be revealed: this is an ability to identify the biochemical sequences based on their function in an abstract system and distinguish between type and its contextual tokens of the same type. Metaphors seem to be an effective instrument for representation, as they make possible a two-dimensional description: biochemical by its experimental empirical results and textual based on the cognitive models of comprehension. In addition to their heuristic value, linguistic metaphors are based on the essential characteristics of genetic information derived from its dual nature: biochemical by its substance, textual (or quasi-textual) by its formal organization. It can be concluded that linguistic metaphors denoting biochemical objects and processes seem to be a method of description and explanation of these heterogeneous properties.

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