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Man not a machine: Models, minds, and mental labor, c.1980.
1Science Studies, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Progress in Brain Research
|August 23, 2017
Summary
The computer metaphor of the mind, dominant post-WW2, declined by the 1980s. New models emphasize parallel, tacit, and embodied cognition over serial information processing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- History of Psychology
- Sociology of Technology
Background:
- The post-WW2 era saw the mind widely conceptualized as a serial information processor.
- This
- computer metaphor
- dominated neurological and psychological theories.
- The rise of mass computing and the postindustrial age prompted a re-evaluation of this metaphor.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the decline of the
- computer metaphor
- of the mind.
- To analyze the shift towards new cognitive models.
- To explore how workplace computerization influenced these changes.
Main Methods:
- Historical analysis of cognitive theories.
- Examination of the impact of computerization on mental labor.
- Conceptual analysis of evolving metaphors for the mind.
Main Results:
- The
- computer metaphor
- faced challenges and was gradually replaced.
- New metaphors emerged, emphasizing parallel, tacit, and embodied aspects of cognition.
- Transformations in mental labor around 1980 highlighted differences between human minds and computing machines.
Conclusions:
- The human mind is better understood through metaphors of parallel, tacit, and embodied processes than serial information processing.
- The postindustrial context fundamentally altered our understanding of cognition.
- The limitations of the
- computer metaphor
- became apparent with widespread computer use.
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