Meaning and Mental Representation (Bradford Books)
by Robert Cummins
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Book Summary Information
Author: Robert CumminsEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1991-02-05
ISBN: 0262530961
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: The MIT Press
Book Reviews of Meaning and Mental Representation (Bradford Books)
Book Review: Dense
Summary: 3 Stars
Cummins' book is basically a very dense investigation of the various theories of mental representation. Cummins presupposes that the reader already has a solid repertoire of knowledge of the philosophy of mind and language. Thus, he has not written MMR as an introductory text. However, the book will provide several useful distinctions and illuminating insights for those who have a background in the aforementioned disciplines. What follows is a quick overview of the various chapters. Chapter 1 distinguishes the problem of representations from the problem of representation. The former has to do with the kinds of things that can be mental representations--they could be images, symbols, neurophysiological states, or what have you; the latter is the problem with which Cummins is concerned. The problem of representation is one of figuring out the nature of mental representations or, in the form of a question, how do mental representations work? According to Cummins, there are 4 possibilities: similarity, covariance, adaptational role, and functional role. Cummins concludes chapter 1 with a brief on the representational theory of mind and the language of thought hypothesis. He concludes that the computational theory of cognition is the framework with which any theory of mental representation must be compatible. Chapter 2 explores the relationship between mental representation and meaning by giving a short account of neo-Gricean theories and their concomitant woes. Chapter 3 touches on the notion of mental representation as similarity. Roughly, a representation r represents x and not y if r is more similar to x than r is to y. Problems with this theory abound. One such problem has to do with representing general classes like animals and vegetables, whose members differ dramatically along many dimensions. The problem, then, is that it is impossible to rule out resemblance in irrelevant respects. Chapter 4 is a solid investigation of Lockean covariance. The idea is that an organism O has a representation r of x if and only if x's cause r in O. Cummins goes on to sharpen this idea so that it can account for misrepresentation. Chapter 5 is a review of Jerry Fodor's account of covariance, which includes the theory of asymmetrical dependence that is supposed explain misrepresentation. Chater 6 ends the discussion of covariance with a look at Fred Dretske's theory of representation that he set out in "Knowledge and the Flow of Information". It is proof of the density of Cummins' work that he explains and analyzes Dretske's theory in a mere 9 pages. I will add to what I mentioned earlier by admonishing potential readers of MMR to read Dretske, Fodor, Locke, and others first. Chapter 7 deals with Ruth Millikan's teleological theory, which Cummins discredits based on its incompatibility with the computational theory of cognition. Chapter 8 provides a detailed discussion of interpretational role semantics, which is a species of the topic in Chapter 9, functional role semantics. In terms of organizational structure, the information would flow much better if chapters 8 and 9 were switched. At any rate, interpretational semantics is the theory of mental representation Cummins wants to argue for. He takes up objections to the theory in Chapter 10. Chapter 11 is a sketch of a theory of mental representation within a connectionist--rather than computational--theory of cognitive architecture. Overall, the book is a fairly useful read for those who want to further clarify their understanding of the various positions within the study of mental representation. For beginners, it will surely frustrate and disappoint.
Summary of Meaning and Mental Representation (Bradford Books)
In this provocative study, Robert Cummins takes on philosophers, both old and new, who pursue the question of mental representation as an abstraction, apart from the constraints of any particular theory or framework. Cummins asserts that mental representation is, in fact, a problem in the philosophy of science, a theoretical assumption that serves different explanatory roles within the different contexts of commonsense or "folk" psychology, orthodox computation, connectionism, or neuroscience.Cummins looks at existing and traditional accounts by Locke, Fodor, Dretske, Millikan, and others of the nature of mental representation and evaluates these accounts within the context of orthodox computational theories of cognition. He proposes that popular accounts of mental representation are inconsistent with the empirical assumptions of these models, which require an account of representation like that involved in mathematical modeling. In the final chapter he considers how mental representation might look in a connectionist context.
A Bradford Book.
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