The computational and the representational language-of-thought hypotheses

Behav Brain Sci. 2023 Sep 28:46:e269. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X23001796.

Abstract

There are two versions of the language-of-thought hypothesis (LOT): Representational LOT (roughly, structured representation), introduced by Ockham, and computational LOT (roughly, symbolic computation) introduced by Fodor. Like many others, I oppose the latter but not the former. Quilty-Dunn et al. defend representational LOT, but they do not defend the strong computational LOT thesis central to the classical-connectionist debate.

Publication types

  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Cognition*
  • Cognitive Science
  • Humans
  • Language*