A Lego Model of the Modularity of the Mind
Steven J. Scher
Eastern Illinois University
In this paper I propose that the dominant form of evolutionary psychology
(which I term .cognitive adaptationism.) can be improved by adopting an
alternative version of the concept of mental modularity. I suggest a
metaphor of mental modules as Lego blocks. The Lego blocks represent a
relatively small set of elementary operations that the mind/brain can
carry out. These Lego blocks are repeatedly assembled in different ways to
execute a wide variety of different functions. These repeated assemblies
correspond more closely to the things that cognitive adaptationists have
asserted are modules. Arguments in favor of the Lego model include the
fact that the localized neural systems identified in the brain appear to
carry out elementary operations, rather than higher-level functions, and
the fact that evolution by natural selection occurs by the gradual
modification of small-level features.
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