Claus Lamm (1998) Does Brain Activity-oriented Modelling Solve the Problem?
. Psycoloquy: 9(19) Connectionist Explanation (16)
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Psycoloquy 9(19): Does Brain Activity-oriented Modelling Solve the Problem?
DOES BRAIN ACTIVITY-ORIENTED MODELLING SOLVE THE PROBLEM?
Commentary on Green on Connectionist-Explanation
Claus Lamm
Brain Research Laboratory
Department of Psychology
University of Vienna
A-1010 Vienna
Austria
Claus.Lamm@univie.ac.at
Abstract
Claiming that it is not clear how many theoretical terms
a connectionist model has to be built of is one of Green's (1998a)
main arguments for referring to (a) a lack of correspondence of the
theoretical entities of connectionist models to any type of
empirical entity and (b) the resulting abundance of degrees of
freedoms in the connectionist modelling of cognition. A more
brain-oriented modelling approach might yield the desired
theoretico-empirical mapping but it does not reduce a model's
degrees of freedom.
Keywords
cognition, connectionism, methodology, theory, computer
modelling, epistemology
References
- Crick, F. (1989) The Recent Excitement About Neural Networks. Nature, 337, 129-132.
- Gevins, A.S., & Cutillo, B.A. (1995) Neuroelectric Measures of Mind. In: Neocortical Dynamics And Human EEG Rhythms, ed. Nunez, P. L., Oxford University Press.
- Green, C.D. (1998a) Are Connectionist Models Theories of Cognition? PSYCOLOQUY 9 (4) ftp://ftp.princeton.edu/pub/harnad/Psycoloquy/1998.volume.9/ psyc.98.9.04.connectionist-explanation.1.green
- Green, C.D.(1998b) Lahley's Lesson Is Not Germane. Reply to Orbach on Connectionist-Explanation. PSYCOLOQUY 9 (7) ftp://ftp.princeton.edu/pub/harnad/Psycoloquy/1998.volume.9/ psyc.98.9.07.connectionist-explanation.4.green
- Orbach, J. (1998). Do wires model neurons? PSYCOLOQUY 9 (5) ftp://ftp.princeton.edu/pub/harnad/Psycoloquy/1998.volume.9/ psyc.98.9.05.connectionist-explanation.2.orbach