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The role of language in transcending core knowledge
1Psychology, Harvard University, MA, Cambridge, USA scarey@wjh.harvard.edu.
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|June 27, 2024
Summary
Core knowledge in babies is primarily perceptual, not conceptual. This finding suggests language learning may help infants move beyond innate knowledge systems.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Developmental Psychology
- Philosophy of Mind
Background:
- The book *What Babies Know* (WBK) proposes core knowledge occupies a unique position in cognitive architecture.
- This position is described as being between perceptual and conceptual representation systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the placement of core knowledge within cognitive architecture.
- To argue that core knowledge aligns more with perception than cognition.
- To explore the implications for language learning's role in transcending core knowledge.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of the concepts presented in *What Babies Know*.
- Philosophical argumentation regarding the perception-cognition divide.
- Examination of the relationship between core knowledge and language acquisition.
Main Results:
- Core knowledge, as defined in WBK, is situated on the perception side of the perception/cognition spectrum.
- This classification has significant implications for understanding cognitive development.
Conclusions:
- The perceptual nature of core knowledge suggests limitations in innate cognitive structures.
- Language learning may be a crucial mechanism for infants to overcome these innate perceptual biases and develop more abstract conceptual understanding.
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