The Bounds of Cognition - Paperback

by Frederick Adams (Author), Kenneth Aizawa (Author)

An alarming number of philosophers and cognitive scientists have argued that mind extends beyond the brain and body. This book evaluates these arguments and suggests that, typically, it does not.

• A timely and relevant study that exposes the need to develop a more sophisticated theory of cognition, while pointing to a bold new direction in exploring the nature of cognition
  
• Articulates and defends the "mark of the cognitive", a common sense theory used to distinguish between cognitive and non-cognitive processes
  
• Challenges the current popularity of extended cognition theory through critical analysis and by pointing out fallacies and shortcoming in the literature
  
• Stimulates discussions that will advance debate about the nature of cognition in the cognitive sciences

Back Jacket

One is naturally inclined to say the tools that surround us--everything from paper and pencils to computers, clothing, and keys--complement our cognitive processing. That is common sense.

The Bounds of Cognition articulates and defends a theory of "the mark of the cognitive," a common sense approach to cognitive science that differentiates between cognitive and non-cognitive processes. Addressing the limits of the embodied mind, the mark of the cognitive is a refreshing alternative approach to "extended cognition" whose advocates--including a growing number of leading philosophers and psychologists--argue that cognitive processing is not "brain bound," and the mind extends beyond the boundary of the brain and body.

Putting their theory of the cognitive into practice, the authors analyze and expose some of the fallacies and shortcomings of extended cognition literature. The Bounds of Cognition is a timely and relevant text that exposes the need to develop a more sophisticated theory of cognition while allowing flexibility in exploring the nature of cognition.

Author Biography

FREDERICK ADAMS is Professor of Cognitive Science & Philosophy and Chair of Linguistics and Cognitive Science at the University of Delaware. He is also director of the Delaware Program in Cognitive Science. He publishes in epistemology, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science.

KENNETH AIZAWA is Charles T. Beaird Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy at Centenary College of Louisiana and is the author of The Systematicity Arguments (2003).