Lecture 5 Flashcards
(23 cards)
Embodied
The mind can’t be separated from the body as the body influences how we perceive the world.
ex: walking around helps memorizing
Embedded
Mental processes are dependant on the context,, including objects social structures and cultural practices (environment)
Extended
The environment is a part of our body it doesn’t just shape it.
Enactive
the mind depends on the interaction between brain body and environment. (Mind is not made for thinking but for doing.
Metaphysical commitment
1-Causal claim: the body and environment are important but not essential for the mind’s existence.
2-Constitutive claim: body and environment are part of the minds structure
Arguments in favour of Embodiment
1- Causal claim: weak embodiment (important but not essential)
2- Constitutive claim: Strong embodiment (essential for the mind)
Weak embodiment
The body is significant for the mind but not essential.
example: Upright posture improves the visual perception, free hands allow to use fire which regulates sleep-wake rhythm.
Strong embodiment
Mental processes are realized by the body itself.
example: interaction between digestive system and the brain plays a role in the mood and cognitive processes demonstarting that mental states rely on more than brain functions.
Embeddedness further :
-We use the environment to enable, support, enhance, or regulate.
-Offload cognitive work to environment.
Functionalist view of extendedness
Bodily and extra-bodily entities can be realizers of mental states when they fulfill the same functional role.
Arguments in favor of extendedness?
1-Parity principle
2-Complementary principle
Parity principle
if an external tool or process functions in the same way as part of our mind or cognitive system, then it should be considered part of that system. (if a notebook has the function of storing like your memory does it should be considered as an extension to your mind)
2-Complementary principle
external tools or elements don’t just replicate or mimic mental processes, but they complement and enhance them. In this view, the brain and body work together with external tools or environments to create a complete cognitive system.
Arguments against Extendedness
1- Coupling constitution fallacy
2-Cognitive Bloat
Coupling constitution fallacy:
Just because something is closely connected to mental processes doesn’t mean it becomes a part of the brain.
Cognitive Bloat
Without the definition of clear boundaries, anything can prove to be a part of our extended mind.
Variants of Enactivism
1- Autopoietic enactivism
2-Sensorimotor knowledge activism
3- Radical enactivism
Autopoietic enactivism
our minds and understanding of the world come from the way we act and live as self-sustaining, living beings. Our minds aren’t separate from our bodies—they are shaped by how we interact with the world.
Life-mind hypothesis
The mind is a manifestation of the same principles that define help (The idea is that being alive and having a mind aren’t two totally separate things—they are part of the same process)
Sense-making
The autopoietic organization of organism defines which meaning the environment has for them and how it relates to it.
Main challanges of Autopoietic enactivism
1-Representation hungry phenomena
2- Scaling up challange
Representation hungry phenomena
Some things we do, like imagining the future, solving complex problems, or understanding abstract ideas (like math), seem to need mental representations. Autopoietic enactivism doesn’t focus much on mental representations. Instead, it’s about how we act and interact with the world.
Scalling-up challenge
This challenge asks: how can autopoietic enactivism explain complex human thinking (like reasoning, planning, or abstract thought)?
