--- abstract: 'Current methodologies in the neurosciences have difficulty in accounting for complex phenomena such as language, which can however be quite well characterised in phenomenological terms. This paper addresses the issue of unifying the two approaches. We typically understand complicated systems in terms of a collection of models, each characterisable in principle within a formal system, it being possible to explain higher-level properties in terms of lower level ones by means of a series of inferences based on these models. We consider the nervous system to be a mechanism for implementing the demands of an appropriate collection of models, each concerned with some aspect of brain and behaviour, the observer mechanism of Baas playing an important role in matching model and behaviour in this context. The discussion expounds these ideas in detail, showing their potential utility in connection with real problems of brain and behaviour, important areas where the ideas can be applied including the development of higher levels of abstraction, and linguistic behaviour, as described in the works of Karmiloff-Smith and Jackendoff respectively.' altloc: [] chapter: ~ commentary: ~ commref: ~ confdates: 'May 16-21, 2004' conference: International Conference on Complex Systems 2004 confloc: 'Boston, MA' contact_email: ~ creators_id: [] creators_name: - family: Josephson given: Brian D. honourific: '' lineage: '' date: 2004 date_type: published datestamp: 2004-06-05 department: ~ dir: disk0/00/00/36/55 edit_lock_since: ~ edit_lock_until: ~ edit_lock_user: ~ editors_id: [] editors_name: [] eprint_status: archive eprintid: 3655 fileinfo: /style/images/fileicons/other.png;/3655/3/ICCS2004.ppt|/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png;/3655/4/ICCS2004.paper.pdf|/style/images/fileicons/text_html.png;/3655/5/ICCS2004.links.html full_text_status: public importid: ~ institution: ~ isbn: ~ ispublished: unpub issn: ~ item_issues_comment: [] item_issues_count: 0 item_issues_description: [] item_issues_id: [] item_issues_reported_by: [] item_issues_resolved_by: [] item_issues_status: [] item_issues_timestamp: [] item_issues_type: [] keywords: 'nervous system, brain modelling, language, hyperstructure, representational redescription, emergence' lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:55:36 latitude: ~ longitude: ~ metadata_visibility: show note: 'Included is the PowerPoint presentation for the lecture, in PowerPoint and pdf formats, and a video interview recorded at the conference on behalf of Complexity Digest.' number: ~ pagerange: ~ pubdom: FALSE publication: ~ publisher: ~ refereed: FALSE referencetext: | Arbib, Michael (2000), The Mirror System, in Imitation and the Evolution of Language, in Imitation in Animals and Artifacts, Nehaniv, C. and Dautenhahn, K. (a more recent version of Arbib’s ideas can be found in a commentary document for Brain and Behavioral Sciences, at http://www.bbsonline.org/Preprints/Arbib-05012002/Referees/ ) Baas, N.A. (1994); Emergence, Hierarchies and Hyperstructures; Artificial Life III (ed. C.G. Langton, Addison-Wesley (pp. 515–537). Jackendoff, R. (2002) Foundations of Language, Oxford, Oxford. Josephson, B.D. (2002) Abstractions and the Brain, SEED 2, 28–35 (e-print at http://www.library.utoronto.ca/see/SEED/Vol2-2/2-2%20resolved/Josephson_abstract.htm ) Karmiloff-Smith, A. (1992); Beyond Modularity: a Developmental Perspective on Cognitive Science, MIT. Pinker, S. (1994); The Language Instinct: the New Science of Language; Penguin Quartz, Steven R. and Sejnowski, Terrence J. (1997) The neural basis of cognitive development: a constructivist manifesto, Behavioural and Brain Sciences 20(4), 537–556. relation_type: [] relation_uri: [] reportno: ~ rev_number: 14 series: ~ source: ~ status_changed: 2007-09-12 16:52:34 subjects: - neuro-mod - comp-sci-complex-theory - ling-learn succeeds: ~ suggestions: |- (i) I had problems loading the collection of files of different types, until I got to using the 'finish' button after finishing each file type. You _are_ supposed to be able to use 'previous' to go back but the system appears to get muddled with various file types if you do this -- maybe there's a bug? If not, maybe the finish button could be called 'finish this file type' or something to make the situation clearer. (ii) it was not apparent to me that people would be able to access all of my files, since links are provided only for the 'main file' of each file type. I got round this by including an HTML file with the various links in it. I had to discover the directory structure used on the site to get this to work, and trust this structure will be preserved when the files are moved to the public area, and for all future time! I suggest flexibility be provided in the system so people can choose which files will appear in the main listing and which will not. (iii) I've included a video interview where I explained the ideas behind the paper. I trust you can live with this 7Mb file, which will be kept on the Complexity Digest site where it is at present for 6 months only. bdj sword_depositor: ~ sword_slug: ~ thesistype: ~ title: How we might be able to Understand the Brain type: confpaper userid: 196 volume: ~