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Advances in neuroscience have forced us to rethink some our assumptions about the structure of the mind, and take stock of the true extent to which our cognitive faculties are "made", not "born". This book describes how our discovery of the brain's power to adapt to its environment ("neuroplasticity") has changed the way we think about the structure of the mind.
List of contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Setting the scene
- 2 Aspects of neuroplasticity
- 2.1 SCOPE OF CHAPTER
- 2.2 THE NATURE OF PLASTIC CHANGES IN THE BRAIN
- 2.2.1 Definition
- 2.2.2 Synaptic plasticity
- 2.3 NEUROPLASTIC RECOVERY DURING DEVELOPMENT
- 2.4 CORTICAL MAP PLASTICITY
- 2.4.1 Intramodal plasticity
- 2.4.2 Crossmodal plasticity
- 2.4.3 Supramodal (or "metamodal") organization
- 2.5 SUMMARY
- 3 Neural reuse and recycling
- 3.1 WHAT IS NEURAL REUSE?
- 3.2 THE MASSIVE REDEPLOYMENT HYPOTHESIS
- 3.3 FURTHER EVIDENCE OF NEURAL REUSE
- 3.3.1 Computational modeling
- 3.3.2 Biobehavioural evidence
- 3.3.3 Final thoughts
- 3.4 SUMMARY
- 4 Modules reconsidered: Varieties of modularity
- 4.1 A PIVOT TO THE NEUROSCIENCES
- 4.2 VARIETIES OF MODULARITY
- 4.2.1 Themes and trends
- 4.2.2 Graph theory and network neuroscience
- 4.2.3 Separate modifiability as the touchstone of modularity
- 4.3 THE BRAIN MODULE
- 4.4 SUMMARY
- 5 Modules reconsidered: Whither modularity?
- 5.1 DOES MODULARITY SURVIVE THE EVIDENCE OF NEURAL REUSE?
- 5.2 CAN COMPOSITE SYSTEMS BE DISSOCIABLE?
- 5.3 MODULAR NOTATION
- 5.4 SUMMARY
- 6 Are modules innate?
- 6.1 PRELIMINARY REMARKS
- 6.2 IMPLICATIONS OF NEUROPLASTICITY
- 6.3 SUMMARY
- 7 The language module reconsidered
- 7.1 PRELIMINARY REMARKS
- 7.2 DEFINING A LANGUAGE MODULE
- 7.2.1 The meaning of linguistic specialization
- 7.2.2 The domain of language clarified
- 7.2.3 Examples of elementary linguistic units
- 7.3 IS THERE A LANGUAGE MODULE?
- 7.4 IS LANGUAGE INNATE?
- 7.5 ACCOUNTING FOR LINGUISTIC MODULARIZATION
- 7.6 SUMMARY
- 8 Saving faculty psychology: Debunking the argument from multiple realization
- 8.1 NEW DIRECTIONS IN FACULTY PSYCHOLOGY
- 8.2 MULTIPLE REALIZATION REVISITED
- 8.2.1 Preliminary remarks
- 8.2.2 Empirical arguments for multiple realization
- 8.2.2.1 Neuroplasticity
- 8.2.2.2 Convergent evolution
- 8.2.3 A conspectus of recent arguments against multiple realization
- 8.2.3.1 Outline of arguments
- 8.2.3.2 The argument from comparative psychology
- 8.2.3.3 The argument from grains
- 8.2.3.4 The argument from context
- 8.2.4 Conclusion
- 8.3 NEW LOOK FACULTY PSYCHOLOGY
- 8.4 SUMMARY
- 9 Summing up
- References
- Index
About the author
John Zerilli is a philosopher with particular interests in cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and the law. He is currently a Research Fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, in the University of Cambridge, and from 2021 will be a Leverhulme Trust Fellow at the University of Oxford.
Summary
Advances in neuroscience have forced us to rethink some our assumptions about the structure of the mind, and take stock of the true extent to which our cognitive faculties are "made", not "born". This book describes how our discovery of the brain's power to adapt to its environment ("neuroplasticity") has changed the way we think about the structure of the mind.
Additional text
One of the most outstanding features of this book is the quality and clarity of its argument, especially concerning the number of fields and complex subjects it ranges across-from neuropsychology, to linguistics and cognitive neuroscience. This is a complex and technical field, but Zerilli's control of the concepts and evidence is masterful."
