Contemporary Theories of Human Cognition

"The main goal of this book is to present, in an organized and systematic form, contemporary major theories of human cognition, which are currently defended by many groups of research in fields such as psychology/ cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience. These theories provide the foundations for their related research programs and many of their central elements have been vigorously debated in the specialized literature. All theories will be presented following this structure: 1 origins, context and the central idea; 2 central elements of the theory; 3 major criticism received. Organizing such theories together in a book can be extremely helpful for promoting the dialog and debates in the related scientific and philosophical areas, since the reader will be able to see more precisely the general differences between them and how they can be related to each other. By looking to the foundations of these theories and their central theoretical elements, one can compare them systematically and decide which one is perhaps the best theory currently available or the most promising to be further developed. Additionally, this book can be very helpful for promoting debates on the issue of theoretical pluralism, integration and unification in the field of psychology/ cognitive science - an issue that is central, but also very complex and difficult, given the traditional fragmentation and theoretical diversity found in the field. Finally, this original project of systematically relating these particular theories can offer some theoretical clarity especially to the fields of psychology/ cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience, and, consequently, provide some useful theoretical guidance to academic and practical professionals and students as well"--