Betwixt and between: the enculturated predictive processing approach to cognition

Fabry, Regina E.

doi:10.1007/s11229-017-1334-y

Cited by 38 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 139 publications

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“…Against this view, a growing number of researchers are aligning themselves with the view that processes of enculturation transform our basic biological faculties through the cultural transmission of cognitive practices. In particular, enculturation refers to the transformative process in which interactions with the surrounding culture determine how cognitive practices are acquired and developed (Menary 2015;Fabry 2018a). The enculturation perspective therefore transcends the crude nature versus nurture dichotomy, as it focuses on how the human biological endowment both constrains and allows for specific processes of enculturation to take place.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, she argues that the cognitive transformations involved in arithmetical cognition are not limited to the brain. Extending the cognitive transformations to the extra-cerebral bodily counterpart of learning driven plasticity, which she calls learning driven bodily adaptability (Fabry 2018a), Fabry uses examples like finger counting and embodied symbol manipulation to show that the adaptability of our motor patterns play an integral role in acquiring arithmetical knowledge and skills in socio-cultural settings. Finally, in her paper the enculturation account is strengthened by an analysis of disorders in arithmetical cognition, namely developmental dyscalculia and acquired acalculia.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Mathematical cognition and enculturation: introduction to the Synthese special issue

Pantsar

2019

Synthese

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Mathematical cognition and enculturation: introduction to the Synthese special issue

Pantsar

2019

Synthese

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“…26 In this way, many mathematical practices are enculturated. Enculturation refers to the transformative process in which interactions with the surrounding culture influence the way cognitive practices develop (Menary 2015;Fabry 2018). Through the mechanism Menary (2014) calls "learning driven plasticity", new cognitive capacities can be acquired due to the neural plasticity of the human brain, which allows for both structural and functional changes (Dehaene 2009;Ansari 2012;Anderson 2014).…”

Section: How To Study Humanly Optimal Algorithmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive and Computational Complexity: Considerations from Mathematical Problem Solving

Pantsar

2019

Erkenn

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Following Marr's famous three-level distinction between explanations in cognitive science, it is often accepted that focus on modeling cognitive tasks should be on the computational level rather than the algorithmic level. When it comes to mathematical problem solving, this approach suggests that the complexity of the task of solving a problem can be characterized by the computational complexity of that problem. In this paper, I argue that human cognizers use heuristic and didactic tools and thus engage in cognitive processes that make their problem solving algorithms computationally suboptimal, in contrast with the optimal algorithms studied in the computational approach. Therefore, in order to accurately model the human cognitive tasks involved in mathematical problem solving, we need to expand our methodology to also include aspects relevant to the algorithmic level. This allows us to study algorithms that are cognitively optimal for human problem solvers. Since problem solving methods are not universal, I propose that they should be studied in the framework of enculturation, which can explain the expected cultural variance in the humanly optimal algorithms. While mathematical problem solving is used as the case study, the considerations in this paper concern modeling of cognitive tasks in general.

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“…Accounts of embodied cognition subscribe to the idea that embodied action contributes to cognitive processes ( Rowlands, 1999 ; Gallagher, 2005 ; Menary, 2007 ; Clark, 2008 ; Anderson et al, 2012 ; Chemero, 2013 ). Proponents of a strong embodiment thesis are committed to the view that the embodied interaction with the local environment plays an indispensable functional role in at least some cognitive processes ( Menary, 2015a ; Fabry, 2018 ). There is ample empirical evidence in support of the strong embodiment thesis in domains that are relevant for theoretical considerations on various types of cognition.…”

Section: Toward a New Conceptual Framework For Investigating Spontanementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A subscription to the strong embodiment thesis is connected to the commitment to a strong variant of the embedded cognition thesis. According to this thesis, at least some cognitive processes are realized by the integration of cerebral, extra-cerebral bodily, and environmental components ( Menary, 2015a ; Fabry, 2018 ). If correct, the strong embedded cognition thesis gives rise to the view that plausible and coherent accounts of at least some cognitive processes – cases of spontaneous cognition included – should take the embodied interaction with the local environment, in which human organisms are embedded, into serious consideration.…”

Section: Toward a New Conceptual Framework For Investigating Spontanementioning

confidence: 99%

Spontaneous Cognition and Epistemic Agency in the Cognitive Niche

Fabry

2018

Front. Psychol.

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According to Thomas Metzinger, many human cognitive processes in the waking state are spontaneous and are deprived of the experience of epistemic agency. He considers mind wandering as a paradigm example of our recurring loss of epistemic agency. I will enrich this view by extending the scope of the concept of epistemic agency to include cases of depressive rumination and creative cognition, which are additional types of spontaneous cognition. Like mind wandering, they are characterized by unique phenomenal and functional properties that give rise to varying degrees of epistemic agency. The main claim of this paper will be that the experience of being an epistemic agent within a certain time frame is a relational phenomenon that emerges from the organism’s capacity to interact with its cognitive niche. To explore this relation, I develop a new framework that integrates phenomenological considerations on epistemic agency with a functional account of the reciprocal coupling of the embodied organism with its cognitive niche. This account rests upon dynamical accounts of strong embodied and embedded cognition and recent work on cognitive niche construction. Importantly, epistemic agency and organism-niche coupling are gradual phenomena ranging from weak to strong realizations. The emerging framework will be employed to analyze mind wandering, depressive rumination, and creative cognition as well as their commonalities and differences. Mind wandering and depressive rumination are cases of weak epistemic agency and organism-niche coupling. However, there are also important phenomenological, functional, and neuronal differences. In contrast, creative cognition is a case of strong epistemic agency and organism-niche coupling. By providing a phenomenological and functional analysis of these distinct types of spontaneous cognition, we can gain a better understanding of the importance of organism-niche interaction for the realization of epistemic agency.

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Betwixt and between: the enculturated predictive processing approach to cognition

Cited by 38 publications

References 139 publications

Mathematical cognition and enculturation: introduction to the Synthese special issue

Mathematical cognition and enculturation: introduction to the Synthese special issue

Cognitive and Computational Complexity: Considerations from Mathematical Problem Solving

Spontaneous Cognition and Epistemic Agency in the Cognitive Niche

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