Pop Psychology, Turing Machines, and Nervous System Explained

Posted on Feb 10, 2025 in Psychology and Sociology

Pop Psychology

Pop psychology, also known as folk psychology, explains behavior in terms of mental states, specifically beliefs and desires. Jerry Fodor referred to it as common-sense psychology. Fodor found pop psychology interesting for three reasons:

  1. Its reliability: It allows us to infer intentions from what people say and predict behavior from their intentions.
  2. Its theoretical depth: It explains how beliefs, preferences, and behaviors interact, enabling generalizations about human behavior.
  3. Its indispensability: We lack alternative ways to describe behavior and its causes if we want them explained under general laws.

Pop psychology aligns with the existence of propositional attitudes. This theory is known as the Representational Theory of Mind (RTM). RTM must explain how we form and modify representations, and how simpler representations combine to form more complex ones. Fodor proposed an innate “language of thought” that facilitates communication within the mind. This innate language allows representations to be treated as symbols, interconnected according to the syntax of the language of thought itself.

Description of a Turing Machine

A Turing machine is an idealized, theoretical machine used to formally model algorithms. Its idealization stems from two key aspects:

  1. Its memory is unlimited.
  2. It never makes mistakes.

A Turing machine can be visualized as an infinitely long tape divided into squares.

Description of the Nervous System

The nervous system is divided into two main components:

  • The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): Comprises two groups of neurons called ganglia and peripheral nerves, located outside the spinal cord and brain.
  • The Central Nervous System (CNS): Consists of the brain and spinal cord.

Although anatomically separate, both systems are interconnected. The PNS receives sensory information, which is then processed by the CNS. The CNS is divided into seven main regions:

  1. Spinal Cord: Extends from the base of the skull to the first lumbar vertebra. It receives sensory information from the skin, trunk, and limbs, and contains motor neurons responsible for voluntary and involuntary movements.
  2. Medulla Oblongata: A prolongation of the spinal cord, sharing some of its responsibilities. It also participates in regulating blood pressure and respiration.
  3. Pons (Variola Bridge): Located next to the medulla, it consists of many neurons that distribute information from the cerebral hemispheres to the cerebellum.
  4. Cerebellum: Receives convergent information, enabling coordination and planning of movement.
  5. Midbrain: Involved in controlling eye movements and skeletal muscles.
  6. Diencephalon: Composed of the thalamus and hypothalamus. The thalamus processes and distributes sensory information reaching the cerebral cortex, while the hypothalamus regulates the autonomic nervous system and hormonal secretion from the pituitary gland.
  7. Cerebral Hemispheres: Composed of large regions of white matter, forming the basal ganglia, hippocampal formation, cerebral cortex, and amygdala.