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Languages of thought need to be distinguished from learning mechanisms, and nothing yet rules out multiple distinctively human learning systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 May 2008

Michael Tetzlaff  and
Peter Carruthers
Michael Tetzlaff
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. mjt@umd.edu pcarruth@umd.edu http://www.philosophy.umd.edu/Faculty/pcarruthers/
Peter Carruthers
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. mjt@umd.edu pcarruth@umd.edu http://www.philosophy.umd.edu/Faculty/pcarruthers/
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Abstract

We distinguish the question whether only human minds are equipped with a language of thought (LoT) from the question whether human minds employ a single uniquely human learning mechanism. Thus separated, our answer to both questions is negative. Even very simple minds employ a LoT. And the comparative data reviewed by Penn et al. actually suggest that there are many distinctively human learning mechanisms.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , April 2008 , pp. 148 - 149
Copyright
Copyright ©Cambridge University Press 2008

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