Editing Mind (section)

=== Faculties and modules ===
Traditionally, the mind was subdivided into [[Faculty psychology|mental faculties]] understood as capacities to perform certain functions or bring about certain processes.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Kenny|1992|pp=71–72}} | {{harvnb|Perler|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=78C6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 3–6, 11]}} | {{harvnb|Hufendiek|Wild|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=78C6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA264 264–265]}} }}</ref> An influential subdivision in the [[history of philosophy]] was between the faculties of intellect and [[Will (philosophy)|will]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Kenny|1992|p=75}} | {{harvnb|Perler|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=78C6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 5–6]}} }}</ref> The intellect encompasses mental phenomena aimed at understanding the world and determining what to believe or what is true; the will is concerned with practical matters and what is good, reflected in phenomena like desire, decision-making, and action.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Kenny|1992|pp=75–76}} | {{harvnb|Perler|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=78C6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 5–6]}} }}</ref> The exact number and nature of the mental faculties are disputed. More fine-grained distinctions divide the intellect into the faculties of understanding and judgment or add sensibility as an additional faculty responsible for sensory impressions.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Kenny|1992|pp=78–79}} | {{harvnb|Perler|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=78C6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 5–6]}} | {{harvnb|McLear|loc=§ 1i. Sensibility, Understanding, and Reason}} }}</ref>{{efn|Mental faculties also play a central role in the Indian tradition, such as the contrast between the sense mind (manas) and intellect ([[buddhi]]).<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Deutsch|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=WfRXAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA354 354]}} | {{harvnb|Schweizer|1993|p=848}} }}</ref>}}

[[File:Müller-Lyer illusion - simple.svg|thumb|alt=Diagram of two horizontal lines with arrow-like components at their ends|In the [[Müller-Lyer illusion]], the horizontal black lines have the same length but the top line appears longer. The illusion persists even after becoming aware of it because of the automatic functioning of mental modules responsible for low-level visual processing.<ref>{{harvnb|Robbins|2017|loc=§ 1. What Is a Mental Module?}}</ref>]]

In contrast to the traditional view, more recent approaches analyze the mind in terms of [[Modularity of mind|mental modules]] rather than faculties.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Robbins|2017|loc=Lead Section, § 1. What Is a Mental Module?}} | {{harvnb|Perler|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=78C6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 7]}} | {{harvnb|Hufendiek|Wild|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=78C6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA264 264–265]}} | {{harvnb|Bermúdez|2014|p=277}} }}</ref> A mental module is an inborn system of the brain that automatically performs a particular function within a specific domain without conscious awareness or effort. In contrast to faculties, the concept of mental modules is normally used to provide a more limited explanation. It is typically restricted to certain low-level cognitive processes without trying to explain how they are integrated into higher-level processes such as conscious reasoning.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Robbins|2017|loc=§ 1. What Is a Mental Module?}} | {{harvnb|Hufendiek|Wild|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=78C6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA265 265–268]}} | {{harvnb|Bermúdez|2014|pp=288–290}} }}</ref>{{efn|A different perspective is proposed by the massive modularity hypothesis, which states that the mind is entirely composed of modules with high-level modules establishing the connection between low-level modules.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Hufendiek|Wild|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=78C6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA267 267–268]}} | {{harvnb|Robbins|2017|loc=§ 3.1. The Case for Massive Modularity}} | {{harvnb|Bermúdez|2014|p=277}} }}</ref>}} Many low-level cognitive processes responsible for visual perception have this automatic and unconscious nature. In the case of [[visual illusion]]s like the [[Müller-Lyer illusion]], the underlying processes continue their operation and the illusion persists even after a person has become aware of the illusion, indicating the mechanical and involuntary nature of the process.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Robbins|2017|loc=§ 1. What Is a Mental Module?}} | {{harvnb|Hufendiek|Wild|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=78C6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA266 266–267]}} }}</ref> Other examples of mental modules concern cognitive processes responsible for [[language processing]] and [[Face perception|facial recognition]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Robbins|2017|loc=§ 1. What Is a Mental Module?}} | {{harvnb|Bermúdez|2014|p=289}} }}</ref>