Modularity of mind

Modularity of Mind is the notion that a mind may be composed of modules, at least in part.

Proponents believe this view is implied by Noam Chomsky's concept of a universal, generative grammar. Such features of language imply there's an underlying "language acquisition device" structure in the brain. This device is postulated to be autonomous and specialized for learning language rapidly; a module.

Fodor's modularity of mind

Drawing from Chomsky and other evidence from linguistics as well as implications from optical illusions and philosophy of mind, Jerry Fodor became one of the most articulate proponents for modularity of mind with the 1983 publication of his monograph Modularity of Mind. Although he argued for the modularity of 'lower level' cognitive processes in Modularity of Mind he also argued that higher level cognitive processes are not modular since they have dissimilar properties. The Mind Doesn't Work That Way , a reaction to Steven Pinker's How the Mind Works, is devoted to this subject.

References

• Fodor, Jerry A. The Modularity of Mind, ISBN 0262560259

See Also

• Modularity
• Society of Mind which proposes the mind is made up of agents