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How can philosophy be a true cognitive science discipline?
1Department of Philosophy, and Interdisciplinary Programs in Cognitive Science and Science Studies, University of California, San Diego.
Topics in Cognitive Science
|August 29, 2014
Summary
Philosophy offers valuable insights for cognitive science. This paper details how philosophy of mind and science can advance cognitive science through exploring the mind-body problem, mental representations, and mechanistic explanations.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Philosophy of Mind
- Philosophy of Science
Background:
- Philosophy has historically been a minor contributor to cognitive science.
- Recent advancements in naturalistic philosophy offer significant theoretical and methodological contributions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the contributions of naturalistic philosophy of mind and science to cognitive science.
- To demonstrate how philosophical frameworks can inform cognitive science research.
Main Methods:
- Review of two projects in naturalistic philosophy of mind.
- Analysis of one project in naturalistic philosophy of science.
- Examination of philosophical stances on the mind-body problem, mental representations, and mechanistic explanation.
Main Results:
- Philosophical stances on the mind-body problem (identity theory, functionalism, heuristic identity theory) are relevant to cognitive science's integration with neuroscience.
- Analyses of mental representations, particularly their content, offer new ways to understand cognitive agents' environmental interactions.
- Accounts of mechanistic explanation provide perspective and guidance for cognitive science's explanatory goals and interdisciplinary integration.
Conclusions:
- Naturalistic philosophy of mind and science can significantly enhance cognitive science.
- Philosophical approaches to the mind-body problem, mental representations, and mechanistic explanations offer crucial theoretical and methodological advancements.
- Interdisciplinary integration, guided by philosophical insights, is key to advancing cognitive science.
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