Jerry Fodor

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how, since the beginning of his career in the early 1960's, Jerry Fodor has been able to produce a number of discrete arguments regarding cognitive science and philosophy of the mind. It also looks at how in 1983 Fodor published his book "Modularity of the Mind" and argued that many low-level, peripheral systems of the mind are modular. It also looks at how in 1987 his "Psychosemantics" was published and how within it, he made a strong case for the causal theory of reference.

From the Paper:

"Despite his firm belief in commonsense psychology, Fodor takes a drastic step out of it when he issues his support for modularity within Modularity of the Mind. He writes, "Behavior is organized, but the organization of behavior is merely derivative; the structure of behavior stands to mental structure as an effect stands to its cause." (Fodor 1983, 2). With this statement he illustrates his affiliation with folk psychology in that he draws a connection between observable behavior and perceived mental causes of that behavior. However, his reverence for physicalism means that his next question demands a sufficient answer: "But whereof does the structure of the mind consist?" (Fodor 1983, 2)."

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