Symbolic and Sub-Symbolic Representations in Computational Models of Human Cognition

Abstract

The debate over symbolic versus sub-symbolic representations of human cognition has been continuing for thirty years, with little indication of a resolution. The argument is this: Does the human cognitive system use symbols as a representation of knowledge, and does it process symbols and their respective constituents? Or does the human cognitive system use a distributed representation of knowledge, and is it somehow capable of processing this distributed representation of knowledge in a complex and meaningful way? This paper argues for an integrated symbolic and sub-symbolic approach to the representation of cognition. The lines of reasoning used as evidence to bolster this argument for an integrated approach are the cognitive architecture the Adaptive Character of Thought-Rational (ACT-R), and biology, where it is argued that symbolic and sub-symbolic representations of cognition are part of an intellectual continuum, with sub-symbolic representations at the low end and symbolic representations at the higher end.