Zenon Pylyshyn
Canadian cognitive scientist who critiqued pictorial theories of mental imagery.
Most quoted
"Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary field, drawing on psychology, computer science, linguistics, philosophy, and neuroscience."
— from Computation and Cognition: Toward a Foundation for Cognitive Science, 1984
"The problem of binding, how different features of an object are integrated, is a fundamental challenge in vision science."
— from Seeing and Visualizing: It's Not What You Think, 2003
"The explanatory power of a theory depends on its ability to account for the systematicity and productivity of cognition."
— from Computation and Cognition: Toward a Foundation for Cognitive Science, 1984
All quotes by Zenon Pylyshyn (102)
The 'new look' in perception emphasized the role of cognitive factors in shaping what we see.
Attention is a crucial mechanism for selecting and prioritizing information in the visual field.
The problem of binding, how different features of an object are integrated, is a fundamental challenge in vision science.
Visual experience is not a direct reflection of the world, but a highly interpreted representation.
The distinction between 'seeing' and 'visualizing' is critical for understanding mental imagery.
Mental imagery is a form of thought, not a perceptual experience.
The debate over mental imagery is not just about pictures, but about the nature of mental representation itself.
The 'cognitive penetrability' of a process refers to the extent to which it can be influenced by beliefs and goals.
If a process is cognitively penetrable, it is not a 'hardwired' module.
The modularity of mind hypothesis suggests that some cognitive processes are encapsulated and operate independently.
The study of individual differences in cognition can provide insights into the underlying architecture of the mind.
The development of cognitive abilities is a complex interplay of innate predispositions and environmental influences.
The field of artificial intelligence has contributed significantly to our understanding of cognitive processes.
Building computational models of cognition forces us to be explicit about our assumptions.
The Turing Test is a useful thought experiment, but it doesn't fully capture the essence of intelligence.
Consciousness remains one of the most challenging problems in cognitive science.
The 'hard problem' of consciousness is explaining how physical processes give rise to subjective experience.
We need to move beyond mere correlations between brain activity and conscious experience.
The study of illusions can reveal the underlying mechanisms of perception.
The brain is a predictive machine, constantly generating hypotheses about the world.
Contemporaries of Zenon Pylyshyn
Other Cognitive Sciences born within 50 years of Zenon Pylyshyn (1937–2022).