Page 67 - Deep Learning

50 Introduction

Figure 2.3. The layered theory approach encompasses empirical patterns, explana-
tions of the latter derived from micro-theories and unifying abstract principles.

The factor that unites these three types of cognitive change is that they require
the learner to overcome some part of his prior knowledge, the distinctive fea-
ture of non-monotonic learning. They are separated by the key phenomena,
the learning scenarios and experimental paradigms in which we can observe
those phenomena and the intellectual traditions within which past explana-
tions for those phenomena have been embedded.
Parts II and III consist of three chapters each. The first chapter in each part
frames the theoretical problem to be solved, anchoring it in everyday experi-
ence as well as in prior research. The latter includes any work that addresses the
relevant problem, regardless of age or disciplinary label. In the second chapter,
I state a micro-theory for the relevant explanatory target. In the third chapter,
I develop the broader implications of the micro-theory, especially in regard to
its interactions with other processes, the accumulation of changes over time
and the projection of its effects across system levels. Part IV follows the same
schema, except that the third chapter is absent.
In Part V I ask how the three micro-theories relate to each other and pro-
pose a unified theory of non-monotonic cognitive change in terms of a set of
abstract principles that are instantiated by each of the three micro-theories.
The book ends with a brief reflection on the implication of the unified theory
for the human condition.