piatra . institutepathwaysFinding the next step…
Compare computational, intentional, embodied, enactive and extended accounts of cognition.
No neuroscience required. Start by distinguishing a model, a representation and an explanation; the Critical thinking route is useful preparation.
An argument about a concrete cognitive task tested against two competing frameworks.
Start here if the background is new. Equivalent experience is enough.
Separate premises, examples and objections when comparing accounts of representation.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy editors · reference
Representational content and explanatory roles
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Open the readingMental Representation. Identify proposed criteria for a representation and ask what explanatory work they perform.
Daniel Dennett · book · 1987
Intentional explanation and embodied cognition arguments
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Open the readingVarela, Thompson · Rosch · book · 1991
Intentional explanation and embodied cognition arguments
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Open the readingThe Intentional Stance. Distinguish a useful intentional description from a commitment to a particular internal mechanism.
The Embodied Mind. Trace how perception, action and embodiment enter the account of cognition.
Andy Clark · book · 2008
Extended cognition and criteria for cognitive inclusion
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Open the readingAndy Clark · David Chalmers · paper · 1998
Extended cognition and criteria for cognitive inclusion
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Open the readingSupersizing the Mind. Identify a proposed cognitive boundary and test the criteria for including an external resource.
The Extended Mind. Reconstruct the inclusion argument and develop a contrasting case.
William Ramsey · book · 2007
Criticism of representational explanation and enactivist alternatives
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Open the readingDaniel D. Hutto · reference
Criticism of representational explanation and enactivist alternatives
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Open the readingRepresentation Reconsidered. Ask whether a representational label explains a mechanism or merely redescribes its behaviour.
Enactivism. Compare an enacted or embodied explanation with the representational account of the same action.
Editorial perspectives based on selected works, rather than author-endorsed reading lists.
An editorial comparison of the route’s selected accounts and evidence.
A curated synthesis cannot be neutral or exhaustive. Follow the primary sources when an interpretation matters.
An editorial reconstruction using the selected work of Daniel Dennett.
This is not an author-endorsed syllabus. The reconstruction highlights selected works and may omit other commitments.
An editorial reconstruction using the selected work of Andy Clark.
This is not an author-endorsed syllabus. The reconstruction highlights selected works and may omit other commitments.
An editorial reconstruction using the selected work of Francisco Varela.
This is not an author-endorsed syllabus. The reconstruction highlights selected works and may omit other commitments.
Background, different viewpoints, and further reading.
Distinguish a useful intentional description from a commitment to a particular internal mechanism.
Intentional explanation and embodied cognition arguments
Compare this account’s mechanism with the preceding reading; note where their predictions differ.
Selected chapters and argument
Trace how perception, action and embodiment enter the account of cognition.
Intentional explanation and embodied cognition arguments
Identify a proposed cognitive boundary and test the criteria for including an external resource.
Extended cognition and criteria for cognitive inclusion
Reconstruct the main argument and identify the assumptions linking it to the route’s question.
Selected chapters and argument
Trace one account linking living organisation with perception and action.
A situated or embodied perception–action account
Choose one situated-action example and identify the contribution of the environment.
A situated or embodied perception–action account
Use this account to revise your initial explanation and identify an unresolved question.
Selected chapters and argument
Ask whether a representational label explains a mechanism or merely redescribes its behaviour.
Criticism of representational explanation and enactivist alternatives
Compare this account’s mechanism with the preceding reading; note where their predictions differ.
Selected chapters and argument
Extract one claim and distinguish the evidence supporting it from the author’s interpretation.
Selected chapters and argument
Reconstruct the inclusion argument and develop a contrasting case.
Extended cognition and criteria for cognitive inclusion
Identify proposed criteria for a representation and ask what explanatory work they perform.
Representational content and explanatory roles
Use the entry’s distinctions and bibliography to test the route’s central argument, rather than treating a summary as a substitute for the primary source.
Named section and worked examples
Use the entry’s distinctions and bibliography to test the route’s central argument, rather than treating a summary as a substitute for the primary source.
Named section and worked examples
Use the entry’s distinctions and bibliography to test the route’s central argument, rather than treating a summary as a substitute for the primary source.
Named section and worked examples
Use the entry’s distinctions and bibliography to test the route’s central argument, rather than treating a summary as a substitute for the primary source.
Named section and worked examples
Compare an enacted or embodied explanation with the representational account of the same action.
Criticism of representational explanation and enactivist alternatives
Use the entry’s distinctions and bibliography to test the route’s central argument, rather than treating a summary as a substitute for the primary source.
Named section and worked examples
Use the entry’s distinctions and bibliography to test the route’s central argument, rather than treating a summary as a substitute for the primary source.
Named section and worked examples
Compare what a theory explains about experience with what it assumes about representation.