The body of knowledge: On the role of the living body in grounding embodied cognition
Biosyst. October 1, 2016 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2016.08.005 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
The paper argues that embodied cognition, while popular in cognitive science and AI, lacks a consensus definition. Most AI research treats the body as a sensorimotor interface for grounding computational processes, but a more biologically-based view emphasizes the living body's homeostatic self-regulation. Adopting this multi-tiered affectively embodied perspective, the author contends that modeling organisms as layered networks of bodily self-regulation mechanisms can advance scientific understanding of embodied cognition.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Modeling organisms as layered networks of bodily self-regulation mechanisms can significantly contribute to understanding embodied cognition. |
Abstract
Embodied cognition is a hot topic in both cognitive science and AI, despite the fact that there still is relatively little consensus regarding what exactly constitutes 'embodiment'. While most embodied AI and cognitive robotics research views the body as the physical/sensorimotor interface that allows to ground computational cognitive processes in sensorimotor interactions with the environment, more biologically-based notions of embodied cognition emphasize the fundamental role that the living body - and more specifically its homeostatic/allostatic self-regulation - plays in grounding both sensorimotor interactions and embodied cognitive processes. Adopting the latter position - a multi-tiered affectively embodied view of cognition in living systems - it is further argued that modeling organisms as layered networks of bodily self-regulation mechanisms can make significant contributions to our scientific understanding of embodied cognition.