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Single Idea 3978

[filed under theme 12. Knowledge Sources / D. Empiricism / 2. Associationism ]

Full Idea

The laws of associations were held to explicate the semantic coherence of intentional processes, which adjust the causal relations among Ideas to reflect corresponding relations among the things that they're ideas of.

Clarification

Hume's associations were 'resemblance, contiguity (closeness), and causation'

Gist of Idea

Associations are held to connect Ideas together in the way the world is connected together

Source

Jerry A. Fodor (Jerry A. Fodor on himself [1994], p.296)

Book Ref

'A Companion to the Philosophy of Mind', ed/tr. Guttenplan,Samuel [Blackwell 1995], p.296

A Reaction

With the support of evolution, and the backing of a correspondence theory of truth, plus more sophistication in the associations, this might work.

The 18 ideas with the same theme [knowledge built by ideas forming links in the mind]:

20306 Once we have experienced two feelings together, one will always give rise to the other [Spinoza]
12527 Some ideas connect together naturally, while others connect by chance or custom [Locke]
12542 Knowledge is just the connection or disagreement of our ideas [Locke]
12555 The constant link between whiteness and things that produce it is the basis of our knowledge [Locke]
2189 All ideas are connected by Resemblance, Contiguity in time or place, and Cause and Effect [Hume]
6489 Associationism results from having to explain intentionality just with sense-data [Robinson,H on Hume]
22005 Associations and causes cannot explain content, which needs norms of judgement [Kant, by Pinkard]
23697 I exist just as an intelligence aware of its faculty for combination [Kant]
14765 Association of ideas is the best philosophical idea of the prescientific age [Peirce]
19253 We talk of 'association by resemblance' but that is wrong: the association constitutes the resemblance [Peirce]
15269 Humean impressions are too instantaneous and simple to have structure or relations [Harré/Madden]
4047 Gestalt psychology proposes inbuilt proximity, similarity, smoothness and closure principles [Goldman]
12617 Associationism can't explain how truth is preserved [Fodor]
2493 According to empiricists abstraction is the fundamental mental process [Fodor]
3978 Associations are held to connect Ideas together in the way the world is connected together [Fodor]
7510 Connectionists say the mind is a general purpose learning device [Pinker]
14955 Rats find some obvious associations easier to learn than less obvious ones [Ladyman/Ross]
11141 Modern empiricism tends to emphasise psychological connections, not semantic relations [Margolis/Laurence]