On a slightly different angle than Newman, et al., I don't see the problem is
with reconciliation of the two -- differently than Chomksy thought of
innatism is that cognition is, in part, embodied in biological organisms that
are subject to genetic inheritance and variation. When taking the form of
biological defects, i.e. sensory integration dysfunction, what is inborn
shapes how the child can learn. One of Fodor's mistakes is relying upon
Chomsky, and that higher structures are the things innate.
bb
On Wednesday 01 May 2002 01:26 pm, Keith Sawyer wrote:
> Yes, I agree that Fodor's argument is radical, but it is intriguing. As I
> understand it he isn't attacking constructivism per se, but rather he is
> attacking various attempts to reconcile constructivism with innatism. I
> think the import of his argument is that once you introduce even a little
> innatism, then constructivism (or "concept acquisition") is logically not
> possible. I am thinking about the 1980 chapter "On the impossibility of
> acquiring 'more powerful' structures" in LANGUAGE AND LEARNING (Harvard).
>
> At 07:13 AM 5/1/02 -0400, you wrote:
> >My naivete is showing again. How can I take whatever version of Fodor's
> >paradox seriously? Nothing new can be learned is something violated
> >regularly, or that structures/processes must be present at lower levels
> > for those at higher levels, in light of biological development is hard
> > (for me) to hold. The latter version feels like disguised reductionism,
> > and if tricked into it, one could be looking for higher order thinking in
>
> elementary
>
> >particles. With all the things to think about, with limited time, my gut
> >says don't spend much time here. But what do i know?
> >
> >bb
>
> R. Keith Sawyer
>
>
> http://www.keithsawyer.com/
> Assistant Professor
> Department of Education
> Washington University
> Campus Box 1183
> St. Louis, MO 63130
> 314-935-8724
-- ...this was not just a matter of chance. These strange things happen all the time... [from the film "Magnolia"]
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