One of Fodor’s main proposals for the mind included mental modules, a concept which states that the function of the brain is determined by its structure. Here, he argued for a calculated approach to perceptual systems, which he believed were automatic and quick. The Modularity of Mind may have been his most impactful work.
Rather than agreeing with blank slate theory, Fordor believed that skills and abilities are present in the brain from birth, and that many of them would be impossible without genetic contribution prior to environmental experience. Jerry Fodor in 2009 (sourced from New York Times Obituaries).Īs a cognitive scientist, Jerry Fodor was a proponent of nativism – a concept opposite of blank slate theory. Since everyone’s experiences are unique, different opinions are inevitable. Icons made by Freepik from Locke’s work, while speaking to the concept of tabula rasa, also focused on empiricism – which is the antithesis of innateness, and is related closely to blank slate theory –, believing experience shapes ideas. (1) The brain is blank at birth, (2) then with experiences and environmental influence, (3) the brain develops. This leaves a lasting effect on who they become. įrom there, education, environment, and experiences – which are external, as well as material and/or immaterial – shape the child’s process of development. According to blank slate theory, the mind is completely blank at birth. Tabula Rasa: the mind in its hypothetical primary blank or empty state before receiving outside impressions something existing in its original pristine state (definition retrieved from on November 3, 2019).īased on the concept of tabula rasa, blank slate theory argues that we are born without any thoughts or opinions already developed.
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