Acquisition of Knowledge Without Transcendental Assistance: An Extended Piagetian Approach

Abstract

Piaget's basic objective is seen as an attempt to explain how the individual and his evolutionary forbears can collectively gain practical mental‐models of the “real world”—starting ultimately from nothing, and without independent assistance. This paper firstly sets out to clarify Piaget's rather abstract views on this matter by postulating a more detailed mechanistic basis for them, and then interpreting various observations in terms of the hypothetical mechanisms. (This analytical approach is thus primarily intended as a heuristic aid; though it is also shown to be prima facie compatible with some other, non‐Piagetian paradigms.) It is concluded that a useful way of summarizing the process is in terms of the combined operations of preference for “internal closure” within the brain (Internal Coherence or consistency), and preference for “external closure” during interaction with the environment (Pragmatism or experimentation). In the light of this, Part II briefly discusses the views of Tarski, Popper and the Operationalists/Behaviourists concerning the nature of truth and the legitimacy of reductionism into unobservable domains.

Cerebellum and cerebrum in adaptive control and cognition: a review

“…This recorded information would provide the basis upon which the learned reference standards and learned responses can be formed (Bize 1976;Traill 1976). Within the brain the recorded information will be embodied by a secondary sub-system placed, in a functional sense, hierarchically above the innate sub-system (Pribram 1967;Traill 1976). This more complex homeostatic circuit may therefore be viewed as a composite of two sub-stystems, one of which embodies learned reference standards.…”

“…However, it will record within its memory the information from the external environment, the information from the internal environment, including the organism's actions, and the information concerning the result of the organism's response -whether it was beneficial or detrimental. This recorded information would provide the basis upon which the learned reference standards and learned responses can be formed (Bize 1976;Traill 1976). Within the brain the recorded information will be embodied by a secondary sub-system placed, in a functional sense, hierarchically above the innate sub-system (Pribram 1967;Traill 1976).…”