zenon pylyshyn argued that imagery might be an epiphenomenon.
zenon pylyshyn argued that imagery might be an epiphenomenon.
who argued that imagery might be an epiphenomenon?
zenon pylyshyn
zenon pylyshyn suggested a propositional model of cognition where people do not conceptualize ideas in images but rather in meaningful relationships. in this theory, epiphenomena refer to images because they are merely products people conceptualize from their actual thought processes. pylyshyn defends his claim by explaining that we only see images when we envision the form of an object. while visualizing objects or actions is a frequent process in our mind, it does not occur when we are considering the meaning behind an action or the non-visual properties of an object. there are many concepts we simply cannot envision. additionally, when envisioning an image, it changes based on our preconceived notions, suggesting that semantic relations precede visual images. unfortunately, the idea of epiphenomena in propositional theory is largely subjective and not falsifiable.
epiphenomenon
however, in medicine, this relationship is typically "not" implied, and the word is usually used in its second sense: an epiphenomenon may occur independently, and is called an epiphenomenon because it is not the primary phenomenon under study or because only correlation, not causation, is known or suspected. in this sense, saying that x is associated with y as an epiphenomenon is preserving an acknowledgment that correlation does not imply causation. signs, symptoms, syndromes (groups of symptoms), and risk factors can all be epiphenomena in this sense. for example, having an increased risk of breast cancer concurrent with taking an antibiotic is an epiphenomenon. it is not the antibiotic that is causing the increased risk, but the increased inflammation associated with the bacterial infection that prompted the taking of an antibiotic. the metaphor of a tree is one way of helping to explain the difference to someone struggling to understand. if the infection is the root of the tree, and the inflammation is the trunk, then the cancer and the antibiotic are two branches; the antibiotic is not the trunk.
epiphenomenon