where is the mind?

Question 1

3 Main Aspects of This Topic

Answer 1

1.) indirect & direct perception
2.) embodied cognition
3.) where is the mind?

Question 2

Indirect vs Direct Perception

Answer 2

Indirect:
* perception impoverished - rely on internal structures to make sense of the world

Direct:
* perceive “as is”
* directly pick up flow of light patterns from optic array

Question 3

Embodied Cognition

Answer 3

• Clark & Chalmers: “where does the mind stop, and the rest of the world begin?”
• cognition situated (brain, body, environment one ‘system’)
• relations: neither representations nor environmental determinism
• brains simply orient bodies to pick up info / act on world
• emphasises that cognition typically involves acting with a physical body on an environment in which that body is immersed
• the mind emerges from relations between brain, body, and world

Question 4

2 Technological Examples (embodied vs not embodied):

Answer 4

Honda’s ASIMO:
* traditional
* computational, big CPU & programming
* slow & error prone

Boston Dynamic’s Big Dog:
* embodied
* dynamical systems, relational sensors
* adapts to situation

Question 5

Shapiro’s Replacement Hypothesis

Answer 5

“Why not let the body and environment come into the cognitive mix?”

Question 6

Radical Embodied Cognition

Answer 6

Anti-representationalism:
* critique epistemological tradition - knowledge does not “mirror” reality
* the human mind is not a representational device

Radical embodied cognitive science:
* viewing perception and cognition to be understandable only in terms of action in the environment