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On the Relation Between Marr's Levels: A Response to Blokpoel (2017)
Author(s) -
Cooper Richard P.,
Peebles David
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
topics in cognitive science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.191
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1756-8765
pISSN - 1756-8757
DOI - 10.1111/tops.12283
Subject(s) - relation (database) , consistency (knowledge bases) , function (biology) , mathematics , econometrics , computer science , artificial intelligence , data mining , evolutionary biology , biology
Blokpoel reminds us of the importance of consistency of function across Marr's levels, but we argue that the approach to ensuring consistency that he advocates—a strict relation through exact implementation of the higher level function at the lower level—is unnecessarily restrictive. We show that it forces overcomplication of the computational level (by requiring it to incorporate concerns from lower levels) and results in the sacrifice of the distinct responsibilities associated with each level. We propose an alternative, no less rigorous, potential characterization of the relation between levels.