Conceptual Analysis And Philosophical Naturalism

Cover......Page 1
Title Page......Page 5
Contents......Page 9
Preface: In Praise of Dr. Fodor......Page 11
Acknowledgments......Page 15
I Stage Setting......Page 19
1 Hegel, Behe, Chomsky, Fodor......Page 21
1.1.1 Hegel and Behe......Page 22
1.1.2 Chomsky on Verbal Behavior......Page 24
1.1.3 Fodor and Pylyshyn on Connectionist Networks......Page 26
1.2 On Digestion......Page 27
1.3 Hegelian Arguments about Digestion......Page 29
1.4 Stages of Scientific Inquiry and Hegelian Arguments......Page 31
1.5 Recommendations......Page 33
1.6 Pointing Forward......Page 34
2.1 A Taxonomy of Theories of Mind: The First Pass......Page 35
2.2 Making Some Finer Distinctions......Page 38
2.3 Embodied Cognitive Science......Page 40
2.4 Radical Embodied Cognitive Science......Page 46
2.5 Example 1: Crossing the Brain–Body–Environment Boundary......Page 51
2.6 Example 2: Satisfying Representation Hunger......Page 56
2.7 Summary and Pointer......Page 61
II Representation and Dynamics......Page 63
3 Theories of Representation......Page 65
3.1.1 Quick Glossary......Page 66
3.1.2 Coupled Oscillator Basics......Page 67
3.2 A Theory of Mental Representation......Page 68
3.3 Markman and Dietrich on “Internal Mediating States”......Page 70
3.4.1 Strong Decouplability: Registration......Page 73
3.4.2 The Weak Reading: Emulators......Page 78
3.5 Summary......Page 83
4.1 Two Claims......Page 85
4.2 The Watt Governor and the Dynamical Stance......Page 86
4.3 Evolutionary Robots and the Epistemological Claim......Page 91
4.4 A (Potential) Problem for Dynamical Accounts......Page 96
4.5 Solving the Problem......Page 100
5 Guides to Discovery......Page 103
5.1 Guide to Discovery 1: Generalizing HKB......Page 104
5.2 Transitional Material......Page 115
5.3 Guide to Discovery 2: Ecological Psychology......Page 116
5.4 Wrap Up......Page 120
III Ecological Psychology......Page 121
6 Information and Direct Perception......Page 123
6.1 Gibson on Direct Perception and Information......Page 124
6.2 The Turvey-Shaw-Mace Approach......Page 127
6.3 Issues with the Turvey-Shaw-Mace Approach......Page 130
6.4 An Alternative Approach to Direct Perception......Page 132
6.5 An Alternative Approach to Information......Page 134
6.6 Compare and Contrast: On Specification and Symmetry......Page 138
6.7 Information All Around......Page 140
6.7.1 Optic Flow and the Variable τ......Page 141
6.7.2 Optic Flow and Information Processing......Page 143
6.7.3 Detecting Entropy and Perceiving Sameness......Page 145
6.8 Wrap Up......Page 151
7.1 Direct Perception and Ontology......Page 153
7.2 Affordances 1.0......Page 154
7.3.1 Affordances and Properties......Page 157
7.3.2 Affordances and the Environment......Page 158
7.4 Affordances 1.1......Page 159
7.4.2 The Organismal Relata......Page 160
7.4.3 Affordances, Abilities, and Dispositions......Page 163
7.4.4 Perceiving Affordances......Page 164
7.5.1 Affordances and Niches......Page 165
7.5.2 Affordances and Events......Page 166
7.5.3 Do Affordances Exist without Animals?......Page 167
7.6 Affordances 2.0......Page 168
7.7.1 Perception by Dynamic Touch......Page 172
7.7.2 Dynamic Touch and the Size-Weight Illusion......Page 174
7.7.3 Is Dynamic Touch a Special Case?......Page 176
7.8 Part III, Outro......Page 178
IV Philosophical Consequences......Page 181
8 Neurophilosophy Meets Radical Embodied Cognitive Science......Page 183
8.1 Reduction, Ruthless and Otherwise......Page 184
8.2 Object Exploration......Page 188
8.3 Recent Work on Object Exploration......Page 189
8.4 Are All Objects Equal?......Page 192
8.5 Conclusions from the Study......Page 193
8.6 Neither No-Brainers nor Brain Obsessed......Page 197
9 The Metaphysics of Radical Embodiment......Page 201
9.1 Embodied Cognition and Realism......Page 202
9.2 The Joys of Plasticity......Page 206
9.3 But What Sort of Realism?......Page 209
9.3.1 Expanding Entity Realism......Page 211
9.3.2 Affordances as Theoretical Entities......Page 212
9.3.3.1 Affordances and events......Page 213
9.3.3.3 Affordances and perception of tools......Page 214
9.4 Phenomenological Realism......Page 215
10 Coda......Page 225
1 Hegel, Behe, Chomsky, Fodor......Page 227
2 Embodied Cognition and Radical Embodied Cognition......Page 229
3 Theories of Representation......Page 230
5 Guides to Discovery......Page 232
6 Information and Direct Perception......Page 233
7 Affordances, etc.......Page 235
9 The Metaphysics of Radical Embodiment......Page 237
References......Page 239
Index......Page 263