The philosophy of embodied cognition 3800-PEC25-S
The paradigm of embodied, enactive, and ecological cognition has emerged and arguably gained prominence. Rather than viewing cognition as the internal processing of information, this paradigm sees it as constituted by the active interaction with a specific environment. However, despite being embedded in various philosophical traditions, the paradigm lacks clarity regarding its foundational concepts. This refers particularly to locative relations in cognitive contexts. For example, it is unclear what it means for "internal representations" to be internal and for the supposed "external world" to be external. It is also unclear how to understand the claim that cognition and consciousness are not "in the head" but "in the environment." Additionally, and most crucially, some branches of the paradigm argue that, rather than representing a given environment, cognition enacts it and co-determines its shape. This is likely one of the most controversial claims in contemporary metaphysics, yet it lacks proper metaphysical analysis.
The purpose of this seminar is twofold. First, it aims to clarify parts of the fundamental conceptual framework underlying the paradigm in question, specifically its ontology. Second, it seeks to identify its consequences for other areas of philosophy, particularly social ontology and value theory.
The seminar will proceed as follows:
First, the paradigm of embodied/enactive cognition will be described.
Second, ontology is defined as a discipline.
Third, the ontological commitments of the paradigm will be identified, especially with regard to the underlying ontology of cognition, cognitive systems, and the cognitive niche.
Finally, building on the identified ontology of embodied/enactive cognition, we will take a new look at social cognition and its products, especially collective agents (e.g., organizations) and social institutions.
Rodzaj przedmiotu
Koordynatorzy przedmiotu
Efekty kształcenia
Knowledge: Students will be able to identify the fundamental concepts underlying the embodied/enactive cognition paradigm and refer to the basic claims made within it. They will also expand their understanding of contemporary ontology, particularly formal ontology belonging to the tradition of Roman Ingarden and drawing on Stanisław Leśniewski, as well as social ontology.
Competences: The key skill is conceptual analysis, particularly the ability to draw connections between concepts belonging to different segments of contemporary philosophy that do not always communicate with one another.
Social skills: open-minded and respectful but critical discussion.
Kryteria oceniania
Participation in discussions and short (5–6 pages) essays will be the basis for grades.
Number of absences: 2
Literatura
Casati, R., Varzi, A. (1999). Parts and places. The structures of spatial representation. MIT Press.
Chemero, A. (2009). Radical embodied cognitive science. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Clark, A. (2005). Word, niche and super-niche: How language makes minds matter more. Theoria, 54, 255–268
Di Paolo, E.A. (2005). Autopoiesis, adaptivity, teleology, agency. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 4(4), 429–452
Gallagher, S. (2017). Enactivist interventions: Rethinking the mind. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Kendal, J.R. (2011). Cultural niche construction and human learning environments: Investigating sociocultural perspectives. Biological Theory, 6, 241–250.
Laland, K.N., Matthews, B., Feldman, M.W. (2016). An introduction to niche construction theory. Evolutionary Ecology, 30, 191–202. DOI 10.1007/s10682-016-9821-z
Perzanowski, J. (1990). Ontologies and ontologics. In: E. Żarnecka Biały (ed.), Logic counts. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 23–42
Smith, B. (1996). Mereotopology: A theory of parts and boundaries. Data & Knowledge Engineering, 20, 287–303.
Smith, B. (2001). Objects and their environments: From Aristotle to ecological ontology. In: A. Frank, J. Raper, J.-P. Cheylan (eds.), The life and motion of socio-economic units(GISDATA Vol 8), London: Taylor and Francis, 79–97
Smith, B., Varzi, A. (1999). The Niche. Noűs, 33(2), 214–238
Varela, F., Thompson, E., Rosch, E. (1991). The embodied mind. Cognitive science and human experience. Cambridge MA: MIT Press
Varzi, A.C. (2016). On drawing lines across the board. In: L. Zaibert (ed.), The theory and practice of ontology. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 45–78
Werner, K. (2025), The Ontology of Embodied Cognition, Routledge
Zahavi, D. (2003). Husserl’s phenomenology. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Więcej informacji
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