---
abstract: 'Behavioral scientists studied behavior; cognitive scientists study what generates behavior. Cognitive science is hence theoretical behaviorism (or behaviorism is experimental cognitivism). Behavior is data for a cognitive theorist. What counts as a theory of behavior? In this paper, a methodological constraint on theory construction -- "neoconstructivism" -- will be proposed (by analogy with constructivism in mathematics): Cognitive theory must be computable; given an encoding of the input to a behaving system, a theory must be able to compute (an encoding of) its outputs. It is a mistake to conclude, however, that this constraint requires cognitive theory to be computational, or that it follows from this that cognition is computation.'
altloc:
  - ftp://ftp.princeton.edu/pub/harnad/Harnad/HTML/harnad82.neoconst.html
  - http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/~harnad/Papers/Harnad/harnad82.neoconst.html
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creators_name:
  - family: Harnad
    given: Stevan
    honourific: ''
    lineage: ''
date: 1982
date_type: published
datestamp: 1998-05-19
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dir: disk0/00/00/06/62
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editors_name:
  - family: Simon
    given: T.
    honourific: ''
    lineage: ''
  - family: Scholes
    given: R.
    honourific: ''
    lineage: ''
eprint_status: archive
eprintid: 662
fileinfo: /style/images/fileicons/text_html.png;/662/1/harnad82.neoconst.html
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keywords: 'cognition, computation, computability, constructivism, theory'
lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:54:10
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publication: 'Language, mind and brain'
publisher: 'Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum'
refereed: FALSE
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relation_type: []
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reportno: ~
rev_number: 8
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status_changed: 2007-09-12 16:32:38
subjects:
  - cog-psy
  - comp-sci-art-intel
  - phil-mind
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title: 'Neoconstructivism: A Unifying Constraint for the Cognitive Sciences'
type: bookchapter
userid: 63
volume: ~
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