Research
Cognitive architecture:
a category theory approach
Cognitive
science is the scientific study of how the mind works.
Cognitive architecture is the collection of basic processes and
the ways that those processes are put together to form complex
(i.e., non-basic) process that support mental functions, such as
attention, (motor) control, language, memory, perception, and
reasoning. Category
theory is a branch of mathematics that provides a
systematic study of composition in a general setting, which
includes many specific instances (in other branches of
mathemathics) as special cases. My research interest centers
around the personal observation that category theory methods can
be applied to address question in cognitive science. One
specific example is the systematicity
problem (Phillips & Wilson, 2010, 2011, 2012).
Selected publications using category-theoretic methods for
cognition:
- Phillips, S., & Wilson,
W. H. (2012). Categorial compositionality III:
F-(co)algebras and
the systematicity of recursive capacities in human cognition.
PLoS ONE, 7(4),
e35028. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035028 PDF
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- Phillips, S., Takeda, Y.,
& Singh, A. (2012). Visual feature integration
indicated by phase-locked frontal-parietal EEG signals. PLoS ONE, 7(3),
e32502.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032502 PDF
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- Phillips, S., & Wilson,
W. H. (2011). Categorial compositionality II:
Universal constructions and a general theory of
(quasi-)systematicity in human cognition. PLoS Computational Biology, 7(8),
e1002102. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002102 PDF
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- Phillips, S., & Wilson,
W. H. (2010). Categorial compositionality: A
category theory explanation for the systematicity of human
cognition. PLoS
Computational Biology, 6(7), e1000858.
doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000858 PDF
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- Phillips, S., Wilson, W.
H., & Halford, G. S. (2009). What do Transitive
Inference and Class Inclusion have in common? Categorical
(co)products and cognitive development. PLoS Computational Biology,
5(12), e1000599. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000599 PDF
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