Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T16:39:24.276Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

From the “coding metaphor” to a theory of representation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2019

Jonathan Birch Open the ORCID record for Jonathan Birch [Opens in a new window]  and
Joulia Smortchkova
Jonathan Birch
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, London School of Economics and Political Science, LondonWC2A 2AE, United Kingdom. [email protected]://personal.lse.ac.uk/birchj1
Joulia Smortchkova
Affiliation:
Faculty of Philosophy, Radcliffe Humanities, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, University of Oxford, OxfordOX2 6GG, United Kingdom. [email protected]://jouliasmortchkova.wordpress.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Brette highlights a conceptual problem in contemporary neuroscience: Loose talk of “coding” sometimes leads to a conflation of the distinction between representing and merely detecting a property. The solution is to replace casual talk of “coding” with an explicit, demanding set of conditions for neural representation. Various theories of this general type can be found in the philosophical literature.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 42 , 2019 , e220
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cook, R., Bird, G., Catmur, C., Press, C. & Heyes, C. (2014) Mirror neurons: From origin to function. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 37(2):177–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dretske, F. (1981) Knowledge and the flow of information. MIT Press.Google Scholar
Fabbri-Destro, M. & Rizzolatti, G. (2008) Mirror neurons and mirror systems in monkeys and humans. Physiology 23(3):171–79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Millikan, R. G. (1984) Language, thought, and other biological categories: New foundations for realism. MIT Press.Google Scholar
Neander, K. (2017) A mark of the mental: In defense of informational teleosemantics. MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shea, N. (2018) Representation in cognitive science. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Umiltà, M. A., Kohler, E., Gallese, V., Fogassi, L., Fadiga, L., Keysers, C. & Rizzolatti, G. (2001) I know what you are doing: A neurophysiological study. Neuron 31(1):155–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed