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The Dogma of Isomorphism: A Case Study from Speech Perception

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Irene Appelbaum*
Affiliation:
University of Montana
*
Department of Philosophy, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812.

Abstract

In this paper I provide a metatheoretical analysis of speech perception research. I argue that the central turning point in the history of speech perception research has not been well understood. While it is widely thought to mark a decisive break with what I call “the alphabetic conception of speech,” I argue that it instead marks the entrenchment of this conception of speech. In addition, I argue that the alphabetic conception of speech continues to underwrite speech perception research today and moreover that it functions as a dogma which ought to be rejected.

Type
Philosophy of Psychology and Cognitive Science
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 by the Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

I would like to thank David Malament, Howard Nusbaum, and Brian C. Smith for helpful comments.

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