Thinking avant la lettre: A Review of 4E Cognition
Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture December 1, 2020 DOI: 10.26613/esic.4.1.172
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe 4E approach to cognition claims that thinking is not confined to the brain but is also embodied, embedded, enacted, or extended through processes and structures outside the skull. Although this view is currently popular, it has undergone relatively little critical scrutiny. This article examines two recent collections of work on 4E cognition to evaluate the paradigm's strengths and weaknesses.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 65 |
| Key finding | The 4E cognition paradigm, though popular, has received relatively few critical evaluations, and this article assesses its strengths and weaknesses by reflecting on two recent collections. |
Abstract
Abstract The “4E” approach to cognition argues that cognition does not occur solely in the head, but is also embodied, embedded, enacted, or extended by way of extra-cranial processes and structures. Though very much in vogue, 4E cognition has received relatively few critical evaluations. By reflecting on two recent collections, this article reviews the 4E paradigm with a view to assessing its strengths and weaknesses.