Cognitive Science and Folk Psychology: The Right Frame of Mind

‘Folk Psychology’ - our everyday talk of beliefs, desires and mental events - has long been compared with the technical language of ‘Cognitive Science’. Does folk psychology provide a correct account of the mental causes of our behaviour, or must our everyday terms ultimately be replaced by a language developed from computational models and neurobiology? This broad-ranging book addresses these questions, which lie at the heart of psychology and philosophy. Providing a critical overview of the key literature in the field, including the seminal work of Fodor and Churchland, the author explores the classic ‘Frame Problem’ and assesses the future prospects of cognitive science. The scope of the frame problem, touching on connectionism, non-demonstrative reasoning, representationalism and the language of thought, questions the very possibility of a truly artificial intelligence.