While philosophers of mind have been arguing over the status of mental representations in cognitive science, cognitive scientists have been quietly engaged in studying perception, action, and cognition without explaining them in terms of mental representation. In this book, Anthony Chemero describes this nonrepresentational approach (which he terms radical embodied cognitive science), puts it in historical and conceptual context, and applies it to traditional problems in the philosophy of mind. Radical embodied cognitive science is a direct descendant of the American naturalist psychology of William James and John Dewey, and follows them in viewing perception and cognition to be understandable only in terms of action in the environment. Chemero argues that cognition should be described in terms of agent-environment dynamics rather than in terms of computation and representation. After outlining this orientation to cognition, Chemero proposes a methodology: dynamical systems theory, which would explain things dynamically and without reference to representation. He also advances a background theory: Gibsonian ecological psychology, "shored up" and clarified. Chemero then looks at some traditional philosophical problems (reductionism, epistemological skepticism, metaphysical realism, consciousness) through the lens of radical embodied cognitive science and concludes that the comparative ease with which it resolves these problems, combined with its empirical promise, makes this approach to cognitive science a rewarding one. "Jerry Fodor is my favorite philosopher," Chemero writes in his preface, adding, "I think that Jerry Fodor is wrong about nearly everything." With this book, Chemero explains nonrepresentational, dynamical, ecological cognitive science as clearly and as rigorously as Jerry Fodor explained computational cognitive science in his classic work The Language of Thought.
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"If you want to know what RECS is about, this [book] is a good clear place to turn. If you already like RECS, but want to understand the conceptual basis and implications, this is for you." -- David Cole, Minds and Machines
About the Author
Anthony Chemero is Associate Professor in the Scientific and Philosophical Studies of Mind Program at Franklin and Marshall College.
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4.8 out of 5 stars
6 reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
It keeps getting better ...
30 Oct 2010
By Jake Keenan
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The striking turn of cognitive science to understand the mind as beyond the brain and out in the body and in the environment keeps gaining momentum. This is the best yet to advance the research and the arguments for the embodied dynamic systems view of cognition. It's 200 pages of concise, well-reasoned, and well-written excursions across the field. On the content side 1) it situates the embodied tradition among competitor theories; 2) it explains and justifies the "radical" label as not requiring representations in the brain; and 3) it makes a strong case that the affordances of ecological psychology (roughly features of the environment that organisms respond to) are a less problematic and richer source for cognitive research than are representations. On the writing side, who can not be drawn to a book that begins with a dedication to the "crowd at Sweet William's Pub" and then follows with these opening lines? - "Jerry Fodor is my favorite philosopher. I think that Jerry Fodor is wrong about nearly everything." The style of writing and thinking follows just as boldly.
In doing such a good job of laying out the full arguments in favor of the radical embodied direction, there are definitely side arguments that he sews up to make his overall argument complete. At times these mental flanking maneuvers stretched my interest, but then his clarity and quickness of laying out what was worth disagreeing about or what should wait for what type of further research turned another messy corner of ideas into something satisfying. With the inclusion of other views, the frequent diagrams, the always never-wasting-time clear prose, and the relaxed fairness to other ideas, the quality of writing is at a level that matches the high level of the synthesis of ideas. It was unusually pleasant to read.
The field is in exciting ferment. The author brings it together and pushes it forward in a very deft manner. It would not surprise me if this book turns out to be a benchmark for the next 5 to 15 years even in this fast-moving field.
In doing such a good job of laying out the full arguments in favor of the radical embodied direction, there are definitely side arguments that he sews up to make his overall argument complete. At times these mental flanking maneuvers stretched my interest, but then his clarity and quickness of laying out what was worth disagreeing about or what should wait for what type of further research turned another messy corner of ideas into something satisfying. With the inclusion of other views, the frequent diagrams, the always never-wasting-time clear prose, and the relaxed fairness to other ideas, the quality of writing is at a level that matches the high level of the synthesis of ideas. It was unusually pleasant to read.
The field is in exciting ferment. The author brings it together and pushes it forward in a very deft manner. It would not surprise me if this book turns out to be a benchmark for the next 5 to 15 years even in this fast-moving field.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of a Kind
11 Nov 2010
By Stephen Pellerine
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
I have never had such a uniquely wonderful experience as I had reading this gem. I have found myself revisiting chapter one on several occasions and get something new each time and for some strange reason enjoy thinking about Hegelian Arguments. I guess the link to Chomsky's LAD is interesting to me as someone fascinated in theories of acquisition and in particular SLA.
I also like the notion that the brains are not the whole story and accompanying antidotes in chapter 8.
I will admit that it is quite dense, pleasantly so, and if you are unfamiliar to the field it may take a couple of goes - but if you like a dash of philosophy and a splash of cognitive science in your drink this may be the book for you.You must read this to truly get a sense of what I am attempting to describe here - its a brilliant book, but on a new playing field of thought (for me anyhow).
If you don't like a mental strain when you read and cognitive science is something new to you - you can be forgiven for selecting a more gradual introduction.
I also like the notion that the brains are not the whole story and accompanying antidotes in chapter 8.
I will admit that it is quite dense, pleasantly so, and if you are unfamiliar to the field it may take a couple of goes - but if you like a dash of philosophy and a splash of cognitive science in your drink this may be the book for you.You must read this to truly get a sense of what I am attempting to describe here - its a brilliant book, but on a new playing field of thought (for me anyhow).
If you don't like a mental strain when you read and cognitive science is something new to you - you can be forgiven for selecting a more gradual introduction.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly radical and "thought" provoking
1 April 2013
By rdf
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book describes a fascinating program that does it's best to put symbolic thought as far out of the picture as possible.
Your conception of that constitutes "as far as possible" will undoubtably change after reading it.
Definitely a must read.
Your conception of that constitutes "as far as possible" will undoubtably change after reading it.
Definitely a must read.
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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