The significance of Contemporary
Debates in Cognitive Science, a book edited by Robert J. Stainton, originates
from the complexity of the scientific undertaking that the field of cognitive
science espouses and from the challenges that this undertaking presents to
its initiates. Cognitive science is a field of inquiry that relies
on the notion that the understanding of the functional and structural
properties of the mind/brain requires the integration of several domains of knowledge,
including anthropology,
biology, computer science, neuroscience, linguistics, logic, philosophy, and psychology.  Each of
these domains represents a rather unique universe of specialized knowledge constructed
with the help of domain-specific data gathering techniques and communicated to
the initiates by means of a distinctive vernacular. Thus, it is not surprising
that cognitive science’s shared goal of understanding the mind/brain is
frequently not sufficient to instantly fade away the communication barriers arising
from the domain specialization that exists among its constituencies. Similarly,
it is not surprising that, although this common goal has produced some master
themes around which research interest has coalesced, it is still a
rather daunting undertaking to attempt to bring to light the vast and
multifaceted field of cognitive science to those who wish to be introduced to
it.  Contemporary Debates in Cognitive Science represents a cleverly designed
solution to this challenge because it specifically appeals to readers who want
to comprehend the nature of the sparks that cause the research enterprise
called cognitive science to come to life.  Of course, the sparks are nothing
less than the critical questions that cognitive scientists have asked
themselves about the structure and functioning of the human mind.

In Contemporary Debates in
Cognitive Science, Stainton has identified eight critical questions that
can be said to have defined the field of cognitive science.  These questions are
known to have generated a considerable amount of investigative work, which has
yet to coalesce into a unified set of answers.  Actually, these questions have created
conflicting camps of experts armored with logical arguments and empirical
substantiations and, by so doing, they have captured the essence of the
dialogue that both enmeshes and breathes life into cognitive science.  In
practice, these questions (among others) have been awarded the status of
controversial issues and thus they have become by and large the motivational
forces behind cognitive scientists’ wide-ranging inquiries.

There is nothing surprising about Stainton’s
selection of issues that are central to cognitive science and his using them as
organizing tools for a book devoted to this field of inquiry. As it would be expected,
the questions selected by Stainton cover fundamental scientific and
philosophical areas of inquiry into the human mind, including the nature and
source of consciousness, the extent to which the human mind operates as a
modular device, whether perception can be defined as aiming at accuracy of
representation, and the innate or empirically derived nature of linguistic
knowledge.  Clearly, it is not the questions that make this book qualitatively
superior to others devoted to the same subject, but the exquisite quality of
the conflicting answers that can be found in it.  Of course, this may be the inevitable
byproduct of the excellence of the writers. Indeed, in Contemporary Debates
in Cognitive Science, Stainton has amassed an intriguing group of experts
and has bestowed on them the task of espousing their knowledge and viewpoint of
a controversial issue.  Each issue, encapsulated in a rather plainly stated
question, generates narratives that support contrasting points of view.  The
content of the narratives carves the task that the readers are assigned to
accomplish.  This task is not that of merely learning what these views are, but
to deconstruct each argument so as to identify its weaknesses and strengths. As
a result, the book is an outstanding collection of essays in response to a
series of captivating issues about the "secrets" of the mind that
forces readers to carefully examine the arguments and empirical evidence accumulated
in favor or against each conflicting viewpoint. 

The most attractive and convincing
narratives are those that are clearly couched in the findings of scientific
inquiry and that use such findings to inform philosophical arguments (see
section titled "Is the aim of perception to provide accurate
representations?"). All, however, are uniquely constructed to resemble a
lively debate that does not appear to have an unambiguous winner and whose
resolution must await future knowledge acquisition.  Although some of the
essays may, from time to time, be concerned with very narrow and detailed
observations and arguments, the overriding themes are never lost in minutiae. On
the contrary, such observations and arguments provide the necessary support for
readers to engage in rigorous analytical examinations of opposing viewpoints
and represent a fertile breeding ground for independent inquiries.

Clearly, this is a read for
individuals who are interested in becoming active participants in the theater
of ideas that cognitive science instinctively nurtures.  Among them, one can
easily envision not only established literati but also students and all who are
curious about the structure and functioning of the mind/brain. With respect to
the student population where this book is likely to be read the most, Contemporary
Debates in Cognitive Science can become a rather useful learning tool.  For
instance, it can be the ideal read for a seminar devoted to topics of cognitive
science.  In such a class, this book can help the students not only to identify
areas to be submitted to further examination but also to structure their own
explorative work into such areas.  If used as a textbook for an introductory
class in cognitive science, it can help foster an appreciation for this
multifaceted field of inquiry by introducing students to some of the debates
that define the field.  Notwithstanding its usefulness as a learning tool in an
academic setting, this book has undoubtedly a wide-ranging appeal for all who
wish to be informed (or reminded) of the limits of our current understanding of
the workings of the mind/brain.  In this capacity, the book, sadly, becomes an
unmistakable reminder that the human mind still holds many secrets and that the
most essential conundrums are yet to be presented with a solution.  Thus, Contemporary
Debates in Cognitive Science is a read for all who want to indulge in the
acknowledgment that the "black box" that behaviorists felt compelled
to ignore and cognitive scientists and philosophers of mind and language have
adamantly and consistently studied is yet to become a box whose contents and
modes of operations can be regarded as mundane. 

© 2007 Maura Pilotti

Maura Pilotti, Ph.D.,
Department of Psychology, Dowling College, New York.

Categories: Psychology