The World in the Head collects the best of Robert Cummins' papers on mental representation and psychological explanation. Running through these papers are a pair of themes: that explaining the mind requires functional analysis, not subsumption under "psychological laws", and that the propositional attitudes—belief, desire, intention—and their interactions, while real, are not the key to understanding the mind at a fundamental level. Taking these ideas seriously puts considerable strain on standard conceptions of rationality and reasoning, on truth-conditional semantics, and on our interpretation of experimental evidence concerning cognitive development, learning and the evolution of mental traits and processes. The temptation to read the structure of mental states and their interactions off the structure of human language is powerful and seductive, but has created a widening gap between what most philosophers and social scientists take for granted about the mind, and the framework we need to make sense what an accelerating biology and neuroscience are telling us about brains. The challenge for the philosophy of mind is to devise a framework that accommodates these developments. This is the underlying motivation for the papers in this collection.
What is it for something in the mind to represent something? Distinguished philosopher of mind Robert Cummins looks at the familiar problems of representation theory (what information is represented in the mind, what form mental representation takes, how representational schemes are implemented in the brain, what it is for one thing to represent another) from an unprecedented angle. Instead of following the usual procedure of defending a version of "indicator" semantics, Cummins begins with a theory of representational error and uses this theory to constrain the account of representational content. Thus, the problem of misrepresentation, which plagues all other accounts, is avoided at the start. Cummins shows that representational error can be accommodated only if the content of a representation is intrinsic--independent of its use and causal role in the system that employs it. Cummins's theory of error is based on the teleological idea of a "target," an intentional concept but one that differs importantly from that of an ordinary intentional object. Using this notion he offers a schematic theory of representation and an account of propositional attitudes that takes exception with some popular positions, such as conceptual role semantics, Fodor's representational theory of the mind, and Putnam's twin-earth examples. A Bradford Book. Representation and Mind series
In exploring the nature of psychological explanation, this book looks at how psychologists theorize about the human ability to calculate, to speak a language and the like. It shows how good theorizing explains or tries to explain such abilities as perception and cognition. It recasts the familiar explanations of "intelligence" and "cognitive capacity" as put forward by philosophers such as Fodor, Dennett, and others in terms of a theory of explanation that makes established doctrine more intelligible to professionals and their students.In particular, the book shows that vestigial adherence to the positivists' D-N model has distorted the view of philosophers of science about what psychologists (and biologists) do and has masked the real nature of explanation. Major sections in the book cover Analysis and Subsumption; Functional Analysis; Understanding Cognitive Capacities; and Historical Reflections.Robert Cummins is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle. A Bradford Book.
A brotherhood of Baltimore Defenders came together in solidarity during May of 1814 when the invasion of mightiest army in the world, fresh from defeat of Napoleon's forces, was imminent. The imponderability of this bold and courageous move of the citizen soldiers to convict to stand fast can only be equaled by their resulting success and how they also continue to impact our lives today. May of 1814 marked thbeginning of a lifelong brotherhood of remembrance which roused the city and nation in patriotism and a sense of nationhood. It was the courage of the Defenders of Baltimore which inspired the lyrics of the Star-Spangled Banner, and the strength of their organization which served to perpetuate the spirit of 1814 into the 20th century - contributing to the adoption of our national anthem in 1931. Too precious to leave to extinction, the Defenders of Baltimore passed their brotherhood and leadership to their sons - now The Society of the War of 1812 in Maryland. This book is the Bicentennial publication of The Society of the War of 1812. With an abundance of new findings and fresh insights contained in its pages, our rich heritage over the past 200 years is seen in retrospect for the first time Robert Cummins is the Bicentennial Committee Chairman for the Society of the War of 1812 in Maryland. He is descended from five veterans of the Battle of North Point, including 3rd Lt. Robert Cummins of Archibald Dobbin's Company of the 39th Regiment, Maryland Militia, who stood firm in the intense action of holding up a collapsing American left flank in Baltimore on September 12th 1814. The author is a software engineer living in Maryland with his wife, son, and two dogs.
The scientific study of 'wellbeing' involves both objective and subjective variables. While objective wellbeing can be simply measured as tangible aspects of the living environment, measuring subjective wellbeing involves quantifying self-reported feelings. Although reliable and valid measures can be achieved, in a cross-cultural context differences in language and culture present formidable challenges to measurement comparability. This Element begins by describing the behaviour of subjective wellbeing in single cultures, using the theory of homeostasis. Robert A. Cummins then discusses cross-cultural differences in subjective wellbeing, with a focus on measurement invariance as a means of ensuring the validity of comparative results. Cummins proposes that the major barrier to creating such comparability of measurement is a pervasive response bias that differs between cultures. He concludes that current instruments are inadequate to provide valid cross-cultural measures of subjective wellbeing, and that suitable measures may be created as short forms of current scales.
For the 25 years before publication a form of therapy known as the ‘Doman-Delacato Techniques’ had been applied to children with disabilities. The therapy originated from the work of Glen Doman and Carl Delacato who established the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential in Philadelphia. The institutes claim to be able to treat a wide range of disabilities, and their best known technique is called ‘Patterning’ and is prescribed for children who have no capacity for voluntary movement. Yet many professional bodies and associations have denounced the approach as overly-expensive, ineffective, creating false hopes, being destructive to family life and based on false theoretical assumptions. Originally published in 1988, this book was the first to offer a detailed analysis and critique of the Doman-Delacato approach. The author draws on data from evolution, neuroanatomy and neurophysiology to challenge its theoretical assumptions. He shows that there is no sound scientific basis to the techniques. Any improvements in a child's condition can be attributed to the increased energy and attention given to that child, rather than the content of the programme. At the same time parents become emotionally ransomed and deluded by false expectations. Written in a style that will be accessible to non-specialists, the book is an important work for both parents and professionals concerned with the welfare of neurologically-impaired children.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Shope presents a unified perspective on meaningfulness, spanning such varied topics as the meaningfulness of linguistic expressions and conventional signs, Freud's conception of the meaningfulness of various mental phenomena and instances of behavior, a person's meaning to do something, meaning in the arts, and even life's having a meaning. Shope's perspective is based upon a 'constitutive' analysis of what it is for one item to represent another. Criticizing the views of philosophers who attempt to analyze such representing in causal terms, or merely in epistemological terms, he shows that a successful analysis needs to invoke both types of considerations.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.