2004
Volume 111, Issue 3
  • ISSN: 0002-5275
  • E-ISSN: 2352-1244

Abstract

Abstract

Explanations in terms of representations are ubiquitous in cognitive neuroscience. In this paper I will show that the question of who is using the representation is of crucial importance, but not often explicitly answered. Two possible users, the scientist and the cognitive system are theoretically strictly distinct, but the distinction is in practice often blurred. It is tempting to jump from ‘representations to the scientist’ to ‘representations to the system’. This step, however, is unwarranted. I will show that representations to the scientist are not in themselves problematic, and can even be useful, but can lead to wrong conclusions. The problems with representations for the system are more fundamental.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.5117/ANTW2019.3.006.UITH
2019-10-01
2024-11-05
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/00025275/111/3/06_ANTW2019.3_UITH.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.5117/ANTW2019.3.006.UITH&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Anderson, M. L., & Pessoa, L.(2011)Quantifying the diversity of neural activations in individual brain regions, in: L.Carlson, C.Hölscher, & T. F.Shipley (red.) Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society, pp. 2421-2426.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Brembs, B.(2011)Towards a scientific concept of free will as a biological trait: spontaneous actions and decision-making in invertebrates, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences278(1707), pp. 930-939. 10.1098/rspb.2010.2325
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Brentano, F.(2014)Psychology from An Empirical Standpoint. Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Brette, R.(2019)Is coding a relevant metaphor for the brain?Behavioral and Brain Sciences, pp. 1-44. doi:10.1017/S0140525X19000049
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Briggman, K. L., Abarbanel, H. D. I., & Kristan, W. B.(2005)Optical Imaging of Neuronal Populations During Decision-Making, Science, 307(5711), pp. 896-901. 10.1126/science.1103736
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Churchland, M. M., Cunningham, J. P., Kaufman, M. T., Ryu, S. I., & Shenoy, K. V.(2010)Cortical Preparatory Activity: Representation of Movement or First Cog in a Dynamical Machine?Neuron, 68(3), pp. 387-400. 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.09.015
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Churchland, P. M.(1984)Matter and Consciousness: A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Cummins, R.(1989)Meaning and mental representation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Cunningham, S.(2000)What is a Mind? An Integrative Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind. Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Dennett, D. C.(1987)The Intentional Stance. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Dennett, D. C.(1991)Consciousness Explained. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Descartes, R.(1641)Meditationes de prima philosophia. In qua Dei existential et animae immortalitas demonstrator. Paris: Michaelem Soly.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Dretske, F.(1988)Explaining behavior: reasons in a world of causes. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Francken, J. C., & Slors, M.(2014)From commonsense to science, and back: The use of cognitive concepts in neuroscience, Consciousness and Cognition29, pp. 248-258.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Glasser, M. F., Smith, S. M., Marcus, D. S., Andersson, J. L. R., Auerbach, E. J., Behrens, T. E. J., et al. (2016)The Human Connectome Project’s neuroimaging approach, Nature Neuroscience19(9), pp. 1175-1187.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Haugeland, J.(1998)Pattern and Being, in: Having Thought: Essays in the Metaphysics of Mind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 267-290.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Kim, J.(2000)Mind in a Physical World. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Kriegeskorte, N., & Kievit, R. A.(2013). Representational geometry: integrating cognition, computation, and the brain, Trends in Cognitive Sciences17(8), pp. 401-412. 10.1016/j.tics.2013.06.007
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Maxwell, S. E., Lau, M. Y., & Howard, G. S.(2015). Is psychology suffering from a replication crisis? What does “failure to replicate” really mean?American Psychologist70(6), pp. 487-498. 10.1037/a0039400
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Millikan, R.(1984)Language, thought, and other biological categories: new foundations for realism. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Poldrack, R. A.(2010)Mapping mental function to brain structure: how can cognitive neuroimaging succeed?Perspectives on Psychological Science5(6), pp. 753-761. 10.1177/1745691610388777
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Schurger, A. A., & Uithol, S.(2015)Nowhere and Everywhere: The Causal Origin of Voluntary Action, Review of Philosophy and Psychology6(4), pp. 761-778. 10.1007/s13164-014-0223-2
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Shenoy, K. V., Sahani, M., & Churchland, M. M.(2013)Cortical Control of Arm Movements: A Dynamical Systems Perspective, Annual Review of Neuroscience36, pp. 337-359. 10.1146/annurev-neuro-062111-150509
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Uithol, S., Burnston, D., & Haselager, W. F. G.(2014)Why we may not find intentions in the brain, Neuropsychologia56, pp. 129-139. 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.01.010
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Uithol, S., Görgen, K., Pischedda, D., Toni, I., & Haynes, J.-D.(2018)The context-dependent nature of the neural implementation of intentions, bioRxiv, 401174. 10.1101/401174
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Wittgenstein, L.(1953)Philosophical Investigations. Oxford: Blackwell.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.5117/ANTW2019.3.006.UITH
Loading
/content/journals/10.5117/ANTW2019.3.006.UITH
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): cognitive neuroscience; dynamical systems; explanation; representationalism
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error