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Beyond Modularity: A Developmental Perspective on Cognitive Science *

Beyond Modularity: A Developmental Perspective on Cognitive Science * Beyond Modularity: A Developmental Perspective on Cognitive Science* By A. Karmiloff-Smith Reviewed by N. V. Smith, Department of Phonetics and Linguistics, University College London This is an original, important and stimulating book, which attempts a Hegelian synthesis of Piagetian constructivism and Fodorian modularity in terms of the author’s own model of ‘representational redescription. * As this is an unfairly abstract way of characterising what is a refreshingly lucid work, I will attempt to make its claims both simple and clear. I will first outline Fodor’s modularity hypothesis, contrasting it with Piaget’s constructivism; I will then summarise K-S’s original contribution, borrowing some of her more elegant examples; and I will conclude by discussing areas where I think her arguments fail, paying particular attention to the nature and development of knowledge of language. Fodor’s (1983) monograph The Modularity of Mind has had a dramatic impact on all the cognitive sciences. The essence of his position is that the human mind is best viewed in terms of a distinction between the central system, responsible for rational thought and the ‘fixation of belief, and a number of modular ‘input systems’, one for each of the senses, which feed the central system. An http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders Wiley

Beyond Modularity: A Developmental Perspective on Cognitive Science *

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References (28)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
1994 Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists
ISSN
1368-2822
eISSN
1460-6984
DOI
10.3109/13682829409041485
Publisher site
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Abstract

Beyond Modularity: A Developmental Perspective on Cognitive Science* By A. Karmiloff-Smith Reviewed by N. V. Smith, Department of Phonetics and Linguistics, University College London This is an original, important and stimulating book, which attempts a Hegelian synthesis of Piagetian constructivism and Fodorian modularity in terms of the author’s own model of ‘representational redescription. * As this is an unfairly abstract way of characterising what is a refreshingly lucid work, I will attempt to make its claims both simple and clear. I will first outline Fodor’s modularity hypothesis, contrasting it with Piaget’s constructivism; I will then summarise K-S’s original contribution, borrowing some of her more elegant examples; and I will conclude by discussing areas where I think her arguments fail, paying particular attention to the nature and development of knowledge of language. Fodor’s (1983) monograph The Modularity of Mind has had a dramatic impact on all the cognitive sciences. The essence of his position is that the human mind is best viewed in terms of a distinction between the central system, responsible for rational thought and the ‘fixation of belief, and a number of modular ‘input systems’, one for each of the senses, which feed the central system. An

Journal

International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders – Wiley

Published: Jan 1, 1994

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