--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From an epistemological perspective, a…" description: "\"“From an epistemological perspective, a person is a uniform being who interprets the different parts of her conscious knowledge in a coherent fashion (..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/ulrich-m-ller-19704_quote_from-an-epistemological-perspective-a-pe_1029569.jpg" --- # From an epistemological perspective, a person is a uniform… ![“From an epistemological perspective, a person is a uniform being who interprets the different parts of her conscious knowledge in a coherent fashion (or at least tries to do this). How do modular theories explain this search for coherence? And how do they explain necessary knowledge, which hardly…” quote by Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/ulrich-m-ller-19704_quote_from-an-epistemological-perspective-a-pe_1029569.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/ulrich-m-ller-19704_quote_from-an-epistemological-perspective-a-pe_1029569.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/ulrich-m-ller-19704_quote_from-an-epistemological-perspective-a-pe_1029569.jpg) > ““From an epistemological perspective, a person is a uniform being who interprets the different parts of her conscious knowledge in a coherent fashion (or at least tries to do this). How do modular theories explain this search for coherence? And how do they explain necessary knowledge, which hardly can be domain-specific (Smith, 1993, p. 5)?”” [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote questions how modular mind theories account for the mind’s drive to integrate disparate knowledge into a coherent whole and to explain knowledge that isn’t tied to specific domains. **In simple terms:** It asks how mental modules achieve overall consistency and universal knowledge. Key Takeaway Consider how mental modules interact to form unified understanding. Themes cognition philosophy of mind epistemology modular theory Mood analytical inquisitive Type theoretical academic When to use this quote - Academic debate - psychology research - education design Key Concepts Coherence necessary knowledge domain‑general cognition Questions to Reflect On - How can modular systems achieve global coherence? - What evidence supports domain‑general knowledge? A Different Perspective Modular theories may struggle to explain cross‑domain integration without a centralizing mechanism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coherence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coherence/) [Coherence Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coherence-explain-2343874/) [Epistemological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epistemological-674112/) [Epistemological Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epistemological-perspective-2343872/) [Modular Theories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modular-theories-2343873/) ## Related quotes > [“the relevance of epistemology for the study of psychology and psychological development is that epistemological assumptions often remain tacit. Practically, this amounts to many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/the-relevance-of-epistemology-for-the-study-of-psychology-and/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [You can't invent something you have no epistemological access to. In a way, it's all recombination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/you-can-t-invent-something-you-have-no-epistemological-access-to-in-a/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [There are, of course, a number of epistemological questions, some of which lie more in the province of the philosopher than they do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/there-are-of-course-a-number-of-epistemological-questions-some-of/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [It is characteristic of the epistemological tradition to present us with partial scenarios and then to demandwhole or categorical answers as it were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avrum-stroll/it-is-characteristic-of-the-epistemological-tradition-to-present-us-2/) [Avrum Stroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avrum-stroll/) > [Indeed, this epistemological theory of the relation between theory and experiment differs sharply from the epistemological theory of naive falsificationism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-lakatos/indeed-this-epistemological-theory-of-the-relation-between-theory-and/) [Imre Lakatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-lakatos/) > [“My own existence as a teacher is one of sustained epistemological demolition”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-brookfield/my-own-existence-as-a-teacher-is-one-of-sustained-epistemological/) [Stephen Brookfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-brookfield/) > [All the best essays are epistemological journeys from ignorance or curiosity to knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/all-the-best-essays-are-epistemological-journeys-from-ignorance-or/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [In the history and literature courses I took, epistemological questions came to interest me most. What makes one explanation of the French Revolution better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-sober/in-the-history-and-literature-courses-i-took-epistemological/) [Elliott Sober](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-sober/) > [“The social sciences are obsessed by epistemological questioning in a way that no science, no real science is. You never have a chemistry class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-latour/the-social-sciences-are-obsessed-by-epistemological-questioning-in-a/) [Bruno Latour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-latour/) > [“Epistemological insiderism” ... is the belief that identity qualifies or disqualifies one from writing with legitimacy and authority about a particular topic. ... Epistemological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rogers-brubaker/epistemological-insiderism-is-the-belief-that-identity-qualifies-or/) [Rogers Brubaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rogers-brubaker/) > [“Ultimately there are only two important epistemological questions in philosophy: What is reality? What is man? And the answer can be collapsed into one:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mijuskovic/ultimately-there-are-only-two-important-epistemological-questions-in/) [Ben Mijuskovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mijuskovic/) > [Pamela Smith and Benjamin Schmidt have gathered together a wide-ranging and provocative set of original essays that successfully demonstrate how contingent the process of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-harkness/pamela-smith-and-benjamin-schmidt-have-gathered-together-a-wide/) [Deborah Harkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-harkness/) > [What we need to do, however, is figure out what our best available theories of the mind suggest about epistemological issues, while we recognise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/what-we-need-to-do-however-is-figure-out-what-our-best-available/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [It is characteristic of the epistemological tradition to present us with partial scenarios and then to demand whole or categorical answers as it were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avrum-stroll/it-is-characteristic-of-the-epistemological-tradition-to-present-us/) [Avrum Stroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avrum-stroll/) > [To attempt this would be like seeing without eyes or directing the gaze of knowledge behind one's own eye. Modern science can acknowledge no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-dilthey/to-attempt-this-would-be-like-seeing-without-eyes-or-directing-the/) [Wilhelm Dilthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-dilthey/) ## More by Ulrich Müller > [“Because psychologists generally take knowledge as unproblematic, the complexity of Piagetian theory seems simply superfluous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/because-psychologists-generally-take-knowledge-as-unproblematic-the/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [“the main problem of any epistemology is in fact to understand how the mind succeeds in constructing necessary relationships, which appear to be independent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/the-main-problem-of-any-epistemology-is-in-fact-to-understand-how-the/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [“Empiricism is not just an empirical method but also a theory of experience. Essentially, it conceives of human beings as passive and sense perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/empiricism-is-not-just-an-empirical-method-but-also-a-theory-of/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [“According to Piaget, the central idea of empiricism is that “the function of cognitive mechanisms is to submit to reality, copying its features as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/according-to-piaget-the-central-idea-of-empiricism-is-that-the/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [“Piaget (1961/1966, pp. 152–153) made the same commitments as Kant: Normative properties are required for knowing reality, and so, following Kant, such properties are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/piaget-1961-1966-pp-152-153-made-the-same-commitments-as-kant/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [“Social contexts provide ubiquitous cases of the same point: If one bottle of beer costs £1, six individual bottles may cost £6, whereas a six-pack costs £5.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/social-contexts-provide-ubiquitous-cases-of-the-same-point-if-one/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [“Kant did not explain the origin of these judgments but assumed that they were attained by abstraction from the activity of the soul, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/kant-did-not-explain-the-origin-of-these-judgments-but-assumed-that/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [“Kant argued that the mind has both receptive capacities and spontaneous capabilities, both operative in human knowledge. For Kant (1787/1933, B74, B93), knowledge has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/kant-argued-that-the-mind-has-both-receptive-capacities-and/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [“Jackson, I. (1987). On situating Piaget’s subject: A triangulation based on Kant, structuralism, and biology. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 17, 471–486.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/jackson-i-1987-on-situating-piaget-s-subject-a-triangulation-based-on/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [“As a biologist, Piaget considered cognitive development to be part of a much more general tendency of living systems to grow, change, improve and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/as-a-biologist-piaget-considered-cognitive-development-to-be-part-of/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [“It is important to recall at the outset that by a cognitive equilibrium (which is analogous to the stability of a living organism) we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/it-is-important-to-recall-at-the-outset-that-by-a-cognitive/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [“An excellent overview of the development of Piaget's theory is provided by Chapman (1988) and more specifically about equilibration in a paper from 1992 (Chapman, 1992).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/an-excellent-overview-of-the-development-of-piaget-s-theory-is/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [“the relevance of epistemology for the study of psychology and psychological development is that epistemological assumptions often remain tacit. Practically, this amounts to many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/the-relevance-of-epistemology-for-the-study-of-psychology-and/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [“In the preface of his Critique of Pure Reason, Kant (1787/1933, B XVI) refers in the same way to the Copernican Revolution. He points…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/in-the-preface-of-his-critique-of-pure-reason-kant-1787-1933-b-xvi/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) > [“Unlike Kant, for whom normative categories are a priori and fully formed in their use, for Piaget any framework has a formation in time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/unlike-kant-for-whom-normative-categories-are-a-priori-and-fully/) [Ulrich Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) [Explore all 32 Ulrich Müller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/) ## More Coherence quotes > [I have a strong spiritual commitment, and I try to express that in my work. Salvation cannot be worked out in human terms. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/i-have-a-strong-spiritual-commitment-and-i-try-to-express-that-in-my/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [The superpowers often behave like two heavily armed blind men feeling their way around a room, each believing himself in mortal peril from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-superpowers-often-behave-like-two-heavily-armed-blind-men-feeling/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Freedom! To fill people's mailboxes, eyes, ears and brains with commercial rubbish against their will, television programs that are impossible to watch with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/freedom-to-fill-people-s-mailboxes-eyes-ears-and-brains-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [By exposing the multiplicity, the facticity, the repetition and stereotype at the heart of every aesthetic gesture, photography deconstructs the possibility of differentiating between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-e-krauss/by-exposing-the-multiplicity-the-facticity-the-repetition-and/) [Rosalind E. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-e-krauss/) > [We have power... Our power isn’t in a political system, or a religious system, or in an economic system, or in a military system;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-trudell/we-have-power-our-power-isn-t-in-a-political-system-or-a-religious/) [John Trudell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-trudell/) > [“To live, it seems, is to explain, to justify, and to find coherence among diverse outcomes, characteristics, and causes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/to-live-it-seems-is-to-explain-to-justify-and-to-find-coherence-among/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [In our view any awareness is an increment to consciousness, an added light, a reinforcement of psychic coherence. Its swiftness or instantaneity can hide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-our-view-any-awareness-is-an-increment-to-consciousness-an-added/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [No one can threaten poetry. It's always been there, always will be. Humans need it to live: it has sustaining powers. How could we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-orr/no-one-can-threaten-poetry-it-s-always-been-there-always-will-be/) [Gregory Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-orr/) > [Art and ideology often interact on each other; but the plain fact is that both spring from a common source. Both draw on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/art-and-ideology-often-interact-on-each-other-but-the-plain-fact-is/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [Whether it is good or evil, whether life in itself is pain or pleasure, whether it is uncertain-that it may perhaps be this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/whether-it-is-good-or-evil-whether-life-in-itself-is-pain-or-pleasure/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Coherence suggests that there is harmony, unity, and integrity between your vision and mission, your roles and goals, your priorities and plans, and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/coherence-suggests-that-there-is-harmony-unity-and-integrity-between/) [Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/) > [Recent studies of mindfulness practices reveal that they can result in profound improvements in a range of physiological, mental, and interpersonal domains in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-siegel/recent-studies-of-mindfulness-practices-reveal-that-they-can-result/) [Daniel J. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-siegel/) > [“I miss talking to him. Every time I come across something I think he'd like, I just wish I could call him up or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lang-leav/i-miss-talking-to-him-every-time-i-come-across-something-i-think-he-d/) [Lang Leav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lang-leav/) > [The genuine coherence of our ideas does not come from the reasoning that ties them together, but from the spiritual impulse that gives rise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/the-genuine-coherence-of-our-ideas-does-not-come-from-the-reasoning/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“Perfect valour is to do without witnesses what one would do before all the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/perfect-valour-is-to-do-without-witnesses-what-one-would-do-before/) [François de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) [Browse all 140 Coherence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coherence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“From an epistemological perspective, a person is a uniform being who interprets the different parts of her conscious knowledge in a coherent fashion (or at least tries to do this). How do modular theories explain this search for coherence? And how do they explain necessary knowledge, which hardly can be domain-specific (Smith, 1993, p. 5)?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ulrich Müller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/from-an-epistemological-perspective-a-person-is-a-uniform-being-who/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Coherence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/from-an-epistemological-perspective-a-person-is-a-uniform-being-who/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/ulrich-m-ller-19704_quote_from-an-epistemological-perspective-a-pe_1029569.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/ulrich-m-ller-19704_quote_from-an-epistemological-perspective-a-pe_1029569.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/ulrich-m-ller-19704_quote_from-an-epistemological-perspective-a-pe_1029569.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“From an epistemological perspective, a person is a uniform being who interprets the different parts of her…” — Ulrich Müller", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ulrich Müller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-m-ller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“From an epistemological perspective, a person...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/from-an-epistemological-perspective-a-person-is-a-uniform-being-who/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-m-ller/from-an-epistemological-perspective-a-person-is-a-uniform-being-who/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```