Journal

Volume 8, Issue 2 (July 31, 2007)

4 articles

• I Feel Your Pain: Mirror Neurons, Empathy, and Moral Motivation
  by Paul Thagard
  J. CS. 2007, 8(2), 109-136;
  Abstract Mirror neurons are brain systems found in monkeys and humans that respond similarly to actions and to the perception of actions of others. This paper explores the implications of mirror neurons for several important philosophical problems, including knowledge of other minds, the nature of empathy, a... [Read more].
  Abstract Mirror neurons are brain systems found in monkeys and humans that respond similarly to actions and to the perception of actions of others. This paper explores the implications of mirror neurons for several important philosophical problems, including knowledge of other minds, the nature of empathy, and moral motivation. It argues that mirror neurons provide a more direct route to other minds, empathy, and moral motivation that complements the more familiar route based on conscious, verbal inference. To show how mirror neurons accomplish these functions, I apply a neurocomputational account of representation and inference. [Collapse]
• On Compositionality and Bidirectional Optimization
  by Helen de Hoop, Petra Hendriks, & Reinhard Blutner
  J. CS. 2007, 8(2), 137-151;
  Abstract In this paper we revisit the semantic principle of compositionality and argue that compositionality is bidirectional optimization. Underspecification approaches to natural language interpretation generally start with an underspecified or weak meaning, which is strengthened by contextual information.... [Read more].
  Abstract In this paper we revisit the semantic principle of compositionality and argue that compositionality is bidirectional optimization. Underspecification approaches to natural language interpretation generally start with an underspecified or weak meaning, which is strengthened by contextual information. By contrast, the bidirectional optimization approach we advocate proceeds from the strongest possible meaning. This meaning can be changed or weakened by contextual information. Under this approach, the meaning of an utterance is composed in a functional rather than a concatenative way, while contextual sources of information play a major role. Yet, because the context of any utterance is in principle the same for the speaker and the hearer, composition and decomposition proceed hand in hand. Hence, bidirectional optimization ultimately guarantees (functional) compositionality. [Collapse]
• Processing of Anomalous Sentences in Japanese: An fMRI Study
  by Yuko Sassa, Motoaki Sugiura, Jobu Watanabe, Yuko Akitsuki, Yasuhiro Maeda, Yoshihiko Matsue, & Ryuta Kawashima
  J. CS. 2007, 8(2), 153-170;
  Abstract Most previous neuroimaging studies of anomalous sentence processing have used Indo-European languages to separately identify syntactic and semantic processing mechanisms. However, typologically distant languages such as Japanese use different sources of information in grammatical role assignments. T... [Read more].
  Abstract Most previous neuroimaging studies of anomalous sentence processing have used Indo-European languages to separately identify syntactic and semantic processing mechanisms. However, typologically distant languages such as Japanese use different sources of information in grammatical role assignments. Thus, we expected that the activation pattern during processing of anomalous sentences in Japanese would be at least partially different from that in other languages reported in previous studies. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure activation during judgments of the correctness of normal and anomalous sentences in native Japanese speakers. We presented simple Japanese sentences as auditory stimuli. Significant activation was found in the left middle and inferior frontal regions (pars orbitaris and pars triangularis) and the superior parietal lobule during processing of sentences with semantic violations. On the other hand, no preferential activation was found, except for the left anterior part of the superior temporal gyrus, during the processing of sentences with syntactic violations. Additionally, activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus, which has been reported in previous studies using Indo-European languages, was not found in our study. The results support our assumption that the left inferior frontal gyrus plays a minor role in syntactic processing of simple Japanese sentences. [Collapse]
• Is Cognitive Science Relevant to Teaching?
  by Peter Slezak
  J. CS. 2007, 8(2), 171-205;
  Abstract This paper is concerned with the application of cognitive science to the problems of pedagogy. My discussion bears on teaching generally but I give some emphasis to the case of science education as illustrative. A voluminous literature professes to explain “How Cognitive Science Can Contribute to Ed... [Read more].
  Abstract This paper is concerned with the application of cognitive science to the problems of pedagogy. My discussion bears on teaching generally but I give some emphasis to the case of science education as illustrative. A voluminous literature professes to explain “How Cognitive Science Can Contribute to Education” (Bruer 1995). My concern is not to directly deny such claims or to impugn work that might warrant them. However, I survey a sample of cognitive science writing that is demonstrably without any such value. Since the cases are chosen for their shortcomings, there is no suggestion that the work discussed is representative, but only widespread. The exercise is important because, if warranted, the critique reveals a malaise in the field where spurious claims for the educational value of cognitive science including neuroscience are so widespread. [Collapse]