in a brain, in a computer, or in a "brain in a vat." Jerry Fodor argues that mental states, such as beliefs and desires, are relations between individuals and mental representations. He maintains that these representations can only be correctly explained in terms of a language of thought (LOT) in the mind. Further, this language of thought itself is codified in the brain, not just a useful explanatory tool. Fodor adheres to a species of functionalism, maintaining that thinking and other mental processes consist primarily of computations operating on the syntax of the representations that make up the language of thought. In later work (Concepts and The Elm and the Expert), Fodor has refined and even questioned some of his original computationalist views, and adopted a highly modified version of LOT (see LOT2). Georges Rey, professor at the University of Maryland, builds on Jerry Fodor's representational theory of mind to produce his own version of a Computational/Representational Theory of Thought. Steven Pinker described a "language instinct," an evolved, built-in capacity to learn language (if not writing). His 1997 book How the Mind Works sought to popularize the computational theory of mind for wide audiences. Ulric Neisser coined the term 'cognitive psychology' in his book published in 1967 (Cognitive Psychology), wherein Neisser characterizes people as dynamic information-processing systems whose mental operations might be described in computational terms. Alternative theories Classical associationism Connectionism Enactivism Memory-prediction framework Perceptual Control Theory Practopoiesis Situated cognition See also Artificial consciousness Artificial philosophy Cognitivism (psychology) Constructivist epistemology Determinism Enchanted loom Mind–body problem Simulated reality Stimulus-Response model References Further reading C. Randy Gallistel Learning and Representation. In R. Menzel (Ed) Learning Theory and Behavior. Vol 1 of Learning and Memory - A Comprehensive Reference. 4 vols (J. Byrne, Ed). Oxford: Elsevier. pp. 227–242. David Marr (1981) Vision: A Computational Investigation into the Human Representation and Processing of Visual Information. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Gualtiero Piccinini (2015). Physical Computation: A Mechanistic Account. NY, Oxford University Press. Gualtiero Piccinini (2017) "Computation in Physical Systems", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/computation-physicalsystems/>. Hilary Putnam (1979) Mathematics, Matter, and Method: Philosophical Papers, Vol. 1. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Hilary Putnam (1991) Representation and Reality. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Hilary Putnam (1995) Renewing Philosophy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Jerry Fodor (1975) The Language of Thought. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Jerry