Bounds of Cognition

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).

"Where is human cognition located? Is human cognitive processing literally constituted (at least partly) by non-neural portions of the environment? The contemporary debate about extended cognition and the extended mind focuses on these questions, among others. Frederick Adams and Kenneth Aizawa's new book, The Bounds of Cognition (BC), contributes wonderfully to this debate. The book is critical of the extended approach; but Adams and Aizawa (A&A) also work toward a positive view, one that allows, in principle, for extended cognition, while yielding very little of it when fed the empirical facts."(Philosophical Psychology, November 2010) “The Bounds of Cognition is the most thorough-going, forceful, and compelling critique of EMH so far.” ( Erkenntnis, September 2009) "[This book] is without question a worthy and timely challenge to extended cognition, as well as to areas in related enterprises such as embodied cognition, situated cognition, dynamical systems theory and artificial life.... I recommend the book highly to anyone interested in these issues." (Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, June 2009)"This is a well written, well argued book. Written by philosophers mainly for philosophers.... It makes a serious contribution to the extended cognition debate that anyone with a serious interest in the issue needs to study." (Journal of Consciousness Studies, January 2009)"Advocates of EMT must undoubtedly examine the arguments and criticisms that Adams and Aizawa offer in careful detail, because The Bounds of Cognition is the most forceful and most convincing criticism of their position so far." (Metapsychology, October 2008)  “The [authors] wrote this book as a reasoned challenge … .[It] offers an excellent overview of the promise, limits, and problems of bounded cognition. Recommended.” (Choice)

• Preface viiAcknowledgments xii1 Introduction 12 Refining the Issues 162.1 What are the Boundaries? 162.2 What is Cognition? 222.3 The Possibility of Extended Cognition 252.4 Conclusion 293 Original Content 313.1 Part of the Mark of the Cognitive: Non-Derived Content 323.2 The Basics on Derived and Underived Content 353.3 Dennett’s Critique of Original Content 393.4 Clark’s Critique of Original Content 463.5 Anti-Representationalism in Dynamical Systems and Mobile Robotics 513.6 Conclusion 554 Cognitive Processes 574.1 Individuating Process Types in Science 584.2 Individuating Processes in Cognitive Psychology 604.3 A Broader Category of Cognition 704.4 Conclusion 745 The Mark of the Cognitive, Extended Cognition Style 765.1 Cognition as Information Processing, as Computation, and as Abiding in the Meaningful 765.2 Operationalism 795.3 Is This Merely a Terminological Issue? 835.4 Conclusion 856 The Coupling-Constitution Fallacy 886.1 Some Examples of the Coupling-Constitution Fallacy 936.2 Replies to the Coupling-Constitution Fallacy 996.3 Conclusion 1057 Extended Cognitive Systems and Extended Cognitive Processes 1067.1 Dynamical Systems Theory and Coupling 1077.2 Haugeland’s Theory of Systems and the Coupling of Components 1127.3 Clark’s Theories of Systems and Coupling 1197.4 Conclusion 1308 Cognitive Equivalence, Complementarity, and Evolution 1338.1 Cognitive Equivalence 1338.2 The Complementarity Argument 1438.3 Evolutionary Arguments 1478.4 Conclusion: The Importance of the Mark of the Cognitive 1509 Inference to the Best Explanation and Extended Cognition 1529.1 What is the Theory of Enactive Perception? 1539.2 Noë’s Evidence for Enactive Perception 1569.3 The Case against Enactive Perception: Paralysis 1669.4 Conclusion 17210 Future Directions 174Bibliography 180Index 187