The enactive approach to mind and cognition implies that cognition is inherently affective and that cognitive appraisal is embodied rather than purely brain-based. It favors a dynamical systems framework over other conceptual models to explain the variability of emotional episodes across individuals and populations, while still recognizing evolution's role in shaping their physiological and behavioral aspects. The approach also holds that the material vehicles of affective episodes need not be limited to biological processes inside the organism; extraorganismic processes can be part of the physical realizers of affectivity and be phenomenologically incorporated into affective experiences.
Amulets from first-millennium BC Mesopotamia, used as bodily adornments and activated in rituals, were recommended by healing experts to influence affective states in oneself and others. By applying the 4E cognition framework—which holds that cognition is embodied, embedded, enactive, and extended—to emotions, the article argues that these material objects served as affective scaffolds, transforming emotions and moods through bodily interactions. The study examines how specific material features of amulet components (minerals, metals, plant and animal substances) were linked to affective responses, drawing on cuneiform scholarly compendia. Comparing ancient Mesopotamian views with contemporary cognitive-affective science reveals analogies but also important differences rooted in distinct understandings of the human mind and agency.