Enactivism and Material Culture: How Enactivism Could Redefine Enculturation Processes
Philosophies July 4, 2022 Alvaro David Monterroza-Rios, Carlos Mario Gutiérrez-aguilar 18 citations
Culture is often defined as shared knowledge, beliefs, and norms that individuals acquire as group members. Some anthropologists view culture as abstract information or behavioral controls, but critics argue these perspectives fail to explain how enculturation actually occurs beyond metaphors of transfer or internalization. Embodied cognitive theories, particularly enactivism, offer an alternative through participatory sense-making within material environments. This essay discusses what an enactive view of culture might look like, its potential advantages, and the challenges and weaknesses it faces in explaining cultural learning processes.