People defending the view that the mind has general rather than specialized devices tend to focus on things like learning, and say things like ”The immune system … contains a broad learning system … An alternative would be to have specialized immune modules for different diseases...” But this confuses specialization for things with specialization for function. Even though the immune system is capable of learning, it is still specialized for defending the body against harmful pathogens.
In addition, the immune system does have specialized modules for different diseases: antibodies.
In addition, the immune system does have specialized modules for different diseases: antibodies.
But it’s still general in the sense that it can build antibodies it has never built before, against pathogens is has never before encountered. So in some sense it’s a general module for building specialized modules.
In addition, the immune system does have specialized modules for different diseases: antibodies.
But it’s still general in the sense that it can build antibodies it has never built before, against pathogens is has never before encountered. So in some sense it’s a general module for building specialized modules.