What's within? : nativism reconsidered / Fiona Cowie.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cowie, Fiona, 1963- author.

Series:

Philosophy of mind.

Philosophy of mind

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chomsky, Noam.

Nativism (Psychology).

Innate ideas (Philosophy).

Language acquisition.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvii, 334 pages) : illustrations.

Other Title:

Nativism reconsidered

Place of Publication:

New York ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1999.

Summary:

Nativists assert that some concepts, beliefs, or capacities are innate or inborn: native to the mind rather than acquired. Fiona Cowie argues that this view is mistaken, demonstrating that nativism is an unstable amalgam of two quite different - and probably inconsistent - theses about the mind.

Contents:

pt. I. The Historical Debate. 1. What Nativism Is Not. 2. What Nativism Is: I. The Hypothesis of Special Faculties. 3. What Nativism Is: II. The Mystery Hypothesis

pt. II. Concept Acquisition: Problem or Mystery? 4. The Case Against Empiricism. 5. The Constitution Hypothesis. 6. Prospects for a Psychology of Concept Acquisition

pt. III. The Fate of the Faculties Hypothesis. 7. Language-Learning: From Behaviorism to Nativism. 8. The Poverty of the Stimulus. 9. The Logical Problem of Language Acquisition. 10. The Role of Universal Grammar in Language-Learning. 11. Will the Evidence for Linguistic Nativisim Please Stand Up?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

0-19-984952-8

0-19-515978-0