Embodiment Flashcards
What is embodiment in cognitive science?
Embodiment is the thesis that cognitive processes are grounded in sensory, perceptual, and motoric processes, which depend on an entity’s morphology (shape and size) and physiology (internal organization).
What is the key implication of embodiment for cognition?
If embodiment is correct, cognitive and psychological processes cannot be properly explained without explicit reference to the body that enables them.
What is the role of an embodiment enthusiast?
To determine how the material and organizational traits of a body allow cognition to emerge, including how the body interacts with and is shaped by the environment.
Define cognition in simple terms.
Cognition is the process of acquiring, processing, storing, and using information to understand, learn, and make decisions.
What are the three core theses of embodiment?
Back:
Conceptualization: The body’s properties shape cognition and determine how an entity understands the environment.
Replacement: Traditional computational cognitive concepts (e.g., symbol, function, representation) must be replaced by body-based concepts.
Constitution: The body plays a constitutive, not just causal, role in cognition.
What is the conceptualization thesis of embodiment?
Back:
The properties of an entity’s body determine the type of cognition it can develop, meaning cognition is dependent on the nature of the body
What does the replacement thesis argue?
Traditional computational concepts in cognitive science (symbols, functions, representation) must be abandoned in favor of concepts better suited to bodily-informed cognition.
On what grounds can we attribute cognitive processes to artificial agents?
We can attribute cognitive processes to artificial agents if they have perceptual, sensory, and motoric systems that allow them to navigate and solve problems in an environment.
What does the constitution thesis argue?
The body is not just a passive vessel; it plays an essential role in cognition, forming part of the cognitive system itself.
What does embodiment say about artificial agents?
Embodiment states that artificial agents must be connected to the world through sensory, perceptual, and motoric interactions to be considered cognitive.
Why is embodiment considered a necessary condition for cognition?
Because cognition cannot exist without a body that interacts with and navigates the environment.
