Models of memory: Wittgenstein and cognitive science
Philosophical Psychology 4 (2):203-18 (1991)
| Abstract | The model of memory as a store, from which records can be retrieved, is taken for granted by many contemporary researchers. On this view, memories are stored by memory traces, which represent the original event and provide a causal link between that episode and one's ability to remember it. I argue that this seemingly plausible model leads to an unacceptable conception of the relationship between mind and brain, and that a non-representational, connectionist, model offers a promising alternative. I also offer a new reading of Wittgenstein's paradoxical remarks about thought and brain processes: as a critique of the cognitivist thesis that information stored in the brain has a linguistic structure and a particular location. On this reading, Wittgenstein's criticism foreshadows some of the most promising contemporary work on connectionist models of neural functioning | |||||||||
| Keywords | Cognitive Science Connectionism Memory Science Wittgenstein | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,679 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesN. Andreasen (2000). Is Schizophrenia a Disorder of Memory or Consciousness? In Endel Tulving (ed.), Memory, Consciousness, and the Brain: The Tallinn Conference. Psychology Press/Taylor & Francis.
Gerard O'Brien (1989). Connectionism, Analogicity and Mental Content. Acta Analytica 22 (22):111-31.
Walter Kintsch & Praful Mangalath (2011). The Construction of Meaning. Topics in Cognitive Science 3 (2):346-370.
Irene Grote (2003). More Memory? Behavioral and Brain Sciences 26 (6):738-739.
William Ramsey, Stephen P. Stich & D. M. Rumelhart (eds.) (1991). Philosophy and Connectionist Theory. Lawrence Erlbaum.
John Sutton (1998). Preface to Philosophy and Memory Traces: Descartes to Connectionism. In [Book Chapter].
Yingxu Wang, Dong Liu & Ying Wang (2003). Discovering the Capacity of Human Memory. Brain and Mind 4 (2):189-198.
John Sutton (1998). Philosophy and Memory Traces: Descartes to Connectionism. Cambridge University Press.
Daniele Moyal-Sharrock (2009). Wittgenstein and the Memory Debate. New Ideas in Psychology Special Issue: Mind, Meaning and Language: Wittgenstein’s Relevance for Psychology 27:213-27.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads21 ( #58,746 of 549,087 )Recent downloads (6 months)3 ( #25,722 of 549,087 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
