Rethinking Innateness
Encyclopedia
Published in 1996 by Jeffrey Elman
, Annette Karmiloff-Smith
, Elizabeth Bates
, Mark Johnson
, Domenico Parisi, and Kim Plunkett, Rethinking Innateness: A connectionist perspective on development
is a book regarding gene/environment interaction. It has been cited more than 1,000 times in scientific articles , and has been nominated as one of the “One hundred most influential works in cognitive science from the 20th Century” (Minnesota Millennium Project).
modelling to brain development.
It questioned whether some of the “hard nativist
” positions, such as those adopted by Noam Chomsky
, Steven Pinker
and Elizabeth Spelke
, are biologically plausible. For example, the authors challenged a claim by Pinker that children are born with innate domain-specific knowledge of the principles of grammar, by questioning how the knowledge that Pinker suggests might actually be encoded in the genes.
Elman et al. argue that information concerning something as specific as grammatical rules (which they classify as proposition
al information) could only be encoded as pre-specified “weights” between neurons in the cortex. But they argue that evidence from a number of sources, such as brain plasticity (the ability of a brain to change its response properties during development) shows that information cannot be hard-wired in this way.
Instead, they argue that genes might influence brain development by determining a system’s “architectural constraints”. By establishing the physical structure of a system, they argue that genes would, in effect, by determining the learning algorithms the system employs to respond to the environment. They argue that the specific propositional information in the system would be determined as a result of the system responding to environmental stimulation.
has gone on to develop his Interactive Specialization
hypothesis, in part building on ideas from Rethinking Innateness. Jeffrey Elman
has also gone on to become one of the most widely recognized figures in computational neuroscience, recently being awarded the David E. Rumelhart Prize for Theoretical Contributions to Cognitive Science.
Jeffrey Elman
Jeffrey L. Elman is Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of California, San Diego. He is a well-known psycholinguist and pioneer in the field of neural networks.-Biography:...
, Annette Karmiloff-Smith
Annette Karmiloff-Smith
Annette Karmiloff-Smith is a professorial research fellow at the Developmental Neurocognition Lab at Birkbeck, University of London. Before moving to Birbeck, she was Head of the Neurocognitive Development Unit at Institute of Child Health, University College, London...
, Elizabeth Bates
Elizabeth Bates
Elizabeth Bates was a Professor of psychology and cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego...
, Mark Johnson
Mark H. Johnson (professor)
Mark Johnson is a British cognitive neuroscientist who since 1997 is head of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, University of London....
, Domenico Parisi, and Kim Plunkett, Rethinking Innateness: A connectionist perspective on development
is a book regarding gene/environment interaction. It has been cited more than 1,000 times in scientific articles , and has been nominated as one of the “One hundred most influential works in cognitive science from the 20th Century” (Minnesota Millennium Project).
Summary
Rethinking Innateness applied insights from neurobiology and neural networkNeural network
The term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
modelling to brain development.
It questioned whether some of the “hard nativist
Psychological nativism
In the field of psychology, nativism is the view that certain skills or abilities are 'native' or hard wired into the brain at birth. This is in contrast to empiricism, the 'blank slate' or tabula rasa view, which states that the brain has inborn capabilities for learning from the environment but...
” positions, such as those adopted by Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
, Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker
Steven Arthur Pinker is a Canadian-American experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, linguist and popular science author...
and Elizabeth Spelke
Elizabeth Spelke
Elizabeth Shilin Spelke is an American cognitive psychologist at the Department of Psychology of Harvard University and director of the Laboratory for Developmental Studies....
, are biologically plausible. For example, the authors challenged a claim by Pinker that children are born with innate domain-specific knowledge of the principles of grammar, by questioning how the knowledge that Pinker suggests might actually be encoded in the genes.
Elman et al. argue that information concerning something as specific as grammatical rules (which they classify as proposition
Proposition
In logic and philosophy, the term proposition refers to either the "content" or "meaning" of a meaningful declarative sentence or the pattern of symbols, marks, or sounds that make up a meaningful declarative sentence...
al information) could only be encoded as pre-specified “weights” between neurons in the cortex. But they argue that evidence from a number of sources, such as brain plasticity (the ability of a brain to change its response properties during development) shows that information cannot be hard-wired in this way.
Instead, they argue that genes might influence brain development by determining a system’s “architectural constraints”. By establishing the physical structure of a system, they argue that genes would, in effect, by determining the learning algorithms the system employs to respond to the environment. They argue that the specific propositional information in the system would be determined as a result of the system responding to environmental stimulation.
Influences
The ideas in Rethinking Innateness have been hugely influential and have been developed in a number of ways. For example Mark JohnsonMark H. Johnson (professor)
Mark Johnson is a British cognitive neuroscientist who since 1997 is head of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, University of London....
has gone on to develop his Interactive Specialization
Interactive Specialization
Interactive Specialization is a theory of brain development proposed by the British cognitive neuroscientist Mark Johnson, who is head of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, University of London, London....
hypothesis, in part building on ideas from Rethinking Innateness. Jeffrey Elman
Jeffrey Elman
Jeffrey L. Elman is Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of California, San Diego. He is a well-known psycholinguist and pioneer in the field of neural networks.-Biography:...
has also gone on to become one of the most widely recognized figures in computational neuroscience, recently being awarded the David E. Rumelhart Prize for Theoretical Contributions to Cognitive Science.