ABSTRACT
Associationism has a tradition that extends over 2,000 years, from the writings of Aristotle to the experiments of modern psychologists. Despite the existence of this clearly identifiable theoretical tradition, there is not a well-defined monolithic theoretical position which can be called associationism. Past associative theories differ one from another both in details and in basic assumptions. While all major associative theorists have agreed on a few fundamental points, there are more fundamentals on which there exist no such consensus. So, we are faced with an apparent paradox: How can we identify a coherent associative tradition but no coherent associative theory?
