Can Wittgenstein help free the mind from rules? The philosophical foundations of connectionism

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Description/Abstract

The question whether the construct 'rule' is essential or not for cognition is one of the main divisions between connectionist and rival approaches in cognitive science. In this paper, the philosophical significance of this division is examined, and its implications for cognitive research, in the light of several possible interpretations of Wittgenstein's paradox of following a rule are considered. The conclusion is that the rejection of rules by connectionism makes it philosophically incompatible with the symbolic rule-governed approach; however, the rejection of rules does not necessarily lead, on its own, to a single way of conceptualizing the mind and its place in nature. Wittgenstein's notions of 'form of life' and 'language games' are used as an aid in forming the philosophical foundations of connectionism.