The Neo-Mechanistic Model of Human Cognitive Computation and Its Major Challenges

Abstract

The neo-mechanistic theory of human cognition is currently one of the most accepted major theories in fields, such as cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience. This proposal offers an account of human cognitive computation, and it has been considered by its proponents as revolutionary and capable of integrating research concerning human cognition with new evidence provided by fields of biology and neuroscience. However, some complex cognitive capacities still present a challenge for explanations constructed by using this theoretical structure. In this chapter, I make a presentation of some of the central tenets of this framework and show in what dimensions it helps our understanding of human cognition concerning aspects of capacities, such as visual perception and memory consolidation. My central goal, however, is to show that to understand and explain some particular human cognitive capacities, such as self-consciousness and some conscious informal reasoning and decision making, the framework shows substantial limitations. I conclude the chapter by suggesting that to fully understand human cognition we will need much more than what the neo-mechanistic framework is actually able to provide.