Building a stronger concept of embodiment
The Oxford Handbook of 4E Cognition October 9, 2018 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198735410.013.18
Summary
The paper argues that a proper understanding of neural reuse—the idea that brain circuits are repurposed for new cognitive functions—supports a stronger version of embodied cognition, where the body and environment are essential to cognition, not just sources of brain-based representations. Weak embodied cognition treats the body as represented in the brain, but strong embodied cognition holds that extraneural factors, including physical, social, and cultural elements, actively shape cognitive processes over evolutionary and developmental timescales.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Neural reuse, properly understood, implies that extraneural body and environmental factors are essential constraints on cognitive evolution and development, supporting a strong version of embodied cognition. |
Abstract
Abstract After reviewing some disagreements and worries about embodied cognition (EC) as a research field, I focus on the distinction between weak EC, which focuses on brain-based, body-related representations, and strong EC, which takes the extraneural body and environment to be more central to cognition. An important aspect of weak EC is its reliance on the neural reuse hypothesis. I argue that an adequate understanding of neural reuse actually points in the direction of a stronger conception of embodied cognition where extraneural factors play an essential role in evolutionary and developmental time frames. Both body and the environment (including physical, social, and cultural factors) place important constraints on how reuse works.