Christopher D. Green (1998) Connectionist Nets are Only Good Models if we Know What They Model . Psycoloquy: 9(23) Connectionist Explanation (20)
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Psycoloquy 9(23): Connectionist Nets are Only Good Models if we Know What They Model

CONNECTIONIST NETS ARE ONLY GOOD MODELS IF WE KNOW WHAT THEY MODEL
Reply to Lee et al. on Connectionist-Explanation

Christopher D. Green
Department of Psychology
York University
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada
http://www.yorku.ca/faculty/academic/christo

christo@yorku.ca

Abstract

Lee, Van Heuveln, Morrison, & Dietrich (1998) suggest, incorrectly, that I argued (Green 1998a) that connectionist networks will not be scientific models unless and until they capture every aspect of neural activity. What I argued was that unless and until connectionists come to terms with the idea that connectionist networks must model SOMETHING (and neural activity currently seems to be the best candidate, but it need not be the only one) they are not models of anything at all, and therefore may have little role to play in cognitive science.

Keywords

artificial intelligence, cognition, computer modelling, connectionism, epistemology, explanation, methodology, neural nets, philosophy of science, theory.

References