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Bringing Forth Within: Enhabiting at the Intersection Between Enaction and Ecological Psychology
1School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Frontiers in Psychology
|September 14, 2020
Summary
This study introduces "enhabiting," a compatibilist account reconciling enaction and ecological psychology by integrating the umwelt and habitat. It proposes a novel framework for understanding embodied agents and their environments.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Philosophy of Mind
- Ecological Psychology
Background:
- Tensions exist between enactive and ecological psychology regarding the definition of 'environment'.
- Enactive approach emphasizes the 'umwelt' (meaningful, lived surroundings).
- Ecological approach focuses on 'habitat' (resources for a species).
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a compatibilist account of habit individuation bridging enaction and ecological psychology.
- To reconcile the 'umwelt' and 'habitat' concepts.
- To introduce the novel concept of 'enhabiting'.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of compatibilities between enactive theory (Di Paolo et al.) and skilled intentionality framework (Bruineberg & Rietveld, Rietveld & Kiverstein).
- Integration of these compatibilities with Gilbert Simondon's philosophy.
- Development of the 'enhabiting' concept.
Main Results:
- Identified significant compatibilities between enactive and skilled intentionality frameworks.
- Developed the concept of 'enhabiting' as a process where umwelt emerges from the agent-habitat relationship.
- Established 'enhabiting' as an intersection point for enaction and ecological psychology.
Conclusions:
- 'Enhabiting' offers a unified perspective on embodied agents and their environments.
- This framework integrates the subjective (umwelt) and objective (habitat) aspects of the environment.
- The proposed account enriches understanding of how organisms dynamically interact with and shape their surroundings.
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