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Discussion on the Relationship between Computation, Information, Cognition, and Their Embodiment
Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic1,2, Marcin Miłkowski3
1Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)
|February 25, 2023
Summary
This paper explores computation in cognitive science through a Socratic dialogue. It concludes that information processing plays a fundamental role in understanding embodied cognition.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Philosophy of Information
- Philosophy of Computing
Background:
- Special issues of Entropy journal focused on "Information-Processing and Embodied, Embedded, Enactive Cognition."
- Research community holds diverse views on computation and its relation to cognition.
Purpose of the Study:
- Elucidate current debates on computation central to cognitive science.
- Present opposing viewpoints on the nature of computation and its link to cognition.
Main Methods:
- Socratic dialogue between two researchers with diverse backgrounds (physics, philosophy, cognitive science).
- Proponent (GDC) introduces the info-computational framework for embodied cognition.
- Critic (MM) raises objections from the new mechanistic approach.
Main Results:
- The dialogue highlights the diversity of perspectives on computation in cognitive science.
- The info-computational framework is presented as a naturalistic model.
- Objections are raised and discussed from a mechanistic viewpoint.
Conclusions:
- Information processing is fundamental to understanding embodied cognition.
- The paper clarifies central debates on computation within cognitive science.
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