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An embodied cognitive science?
1Philosophy/Neuroscience/Psychology (PNP) Program, Washington University in St Louis, USA.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
|August 26, 1999
Summary
Cognitive science increasingly explores embodiment and environment. This article questions whether these factors merely constrain or fundamentally transform our understanding of the mind.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Embodied Cognition
- Environmental Psychology
Background:
- Growing interest in the physical body, local environment, and neural systems' interaction with the world.
- Unanswered questions persist regarding a truly embodied and embedded science of the mind.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically examine the nature and scope of embodied and embedded approaches in cognitive science.
- To differentiate between 'simple' and 'radical' appeals to embodiment.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of embodiment in cognitive science.
- Distinguishing between two types of embodiment appeals: constraining versus transformative.
Main Results:
- Identified 'simple' embodiment appeals where bodily/environmental factors constrain existing cognitive models.
- Identified 'radical' embodiment appeals aiming to transform cognitive science's subject matter and framework.
Conclusions:
- The distinction highlights key debates in developing an embodied and environmentally embedded science of the mind.
- Further research is needed to clarify the implications of radical embodiment for cognitive science theory and practice.