The Algebraic Mind Integrating Connectionism and Cognitive Science [Paperback]

In The Algebraic Mind, Gary Marcus attempts to integrate two theories about how the mind works, one that says that the mind is a computer-like manipulator of symbols, and another that says that the mind is a large network of neurons working together in parallel. Resisting the conventional wisdom that says that if the mind is a large neural network it cannot simultaneously be a manipulator of symbols, Marcus outlines a variety of ways in which neural systems could be organized so as to manipulate symbols, and he shows why such systems are more likely to provide an adequate substrate for language and cognition than neural systems that are inconsistent with the manipulation of symbols. Concluding with a discussion of how a neurally realized system of symbol-manipulation could have evolved and how such a system could unfold developmentally within the womb, Marcus helps to set the future agenda of cognitive neuroscience.

In The Algebraic Mind, Marcus dives into the difficult waters of the connectionist-symbolic debate.

In this strikingly original and penetrating book, Gary Marcus examines the core of our understanding of mind and brain: the nature of cognitive architecture. In constructive and incisive analyses, he pinpoints the computational strengths and weaknesses of connectionist and symbol-processing models of the mind, combining attention to minute particulars with an eye to what it all means. The Algebraic Mind is a rare and invaluable achievement, which should be required reading for cognitive scientists, cognitive neuroscientists, and researchers in artificial intelligence.

Anyone who wants to understand the nature of thought has to come to grips with the controversy between symbolic and connectionist architectures. Marcus's book gives the most sophisticated treatment of this debate to date, showing clearly what is at stake and making a compelling case for an al>