Situatedness and Embodiment of Computational Systems
In this paper, the role of the environment and physical embodiment of computational systems for explanatory purposes will be analyzed. In particular, the focus will be on cognitive computational systems, understood in terms of mechanisms that manipulate semantic information. It will be argued that t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2017-04-01
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| Series: | Entropy |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/19/4/162 |
| _version_ | 1811263308527828992 |
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| author | Marcin Miłkowski |
| author_facet | Marcin Miłkowski |
| author_sort | Marcin Miłkowski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this paper, the role of the environment and physical embodiment of computational systems for explanatory purposes will be analyzed. In particular, the focus will be on cognitive computational systems, understood in terms of mechanisms that manipulate semantic information. It will be argued that the role of the environment has long been appreciated, in particular in the work of Herbert A. Simon, which has inspired the mechanistic view on explanation. From Simon’s perspective, the embodied view on cognition seems natural but it is nowhere near as critical as its proponents suggest. The only point of difference between Simon and embodied cognition is the significance of body-based off-line cognition; however, it will be argued that it is notoriously over-appreciated in the current debate. The new mechanistic view on explanation suggests that even if it is critical to situate a mechanism in its environment and study its physical composition, or realization, it is also stressed that not all detail counts, and that some bodily features of cognitive systems should be left out from explanations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:43:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-94701e250fa8484894a498272797f49c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1099-4300 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:43:17Z |
| publishDate | 2017-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Entropy |
| spelling | doaj.art-94701e250fa8484894a498272797f49c2022-12-22T03:19:02ZengMDPI AGEntropy1099-43002017-04-0119416210.3390/e19040162e19040162Situatedness and Embodiment of Computational SystemsMarcin Miłkowski0Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Nowy Świat 72, 00-330 Warszawa, PolandIn this paper, the role of the environment and physical embodiment of computational systems for explanatory purposes will be analyzed. In particular, the focus will be on cognitive computational systems, understood in terms of mechanisms that manipulate semantic information. It will be argued that the role of the environment has long been appreciated, in particular in the work of Herbert A. Simon, which has inspired the mechanistic view on explanation. From Simon’s perspective, the embodied view on cognition seems natural but it is nowhere near as critical as its proponents suggest. The only point of difference between Simon and embodied cognition is the significance of body-based off-line cognition; however, it will be argued that it is notoriously over-appreciated in the current debate. The new mechanistic view on explanation suggests that even if it is critical to situate a mechanism in its environment and study its physical composition, or realization, it is also stressed that not all detail counts, and that some bodily features of cognitive systems should be left out from explanations.http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/19/4/162cognitive mechanismsinformational interactionmechanistic explanationcomputational modeling |
| spellingShingle | Marcin Miłkowski Situatedness and Embodiment of Computational Systems Entropy cognitive mechanisms informational interaction mechanistic explanation computational modeling |
| title | Situatedness and Embodiment of Computational Systems |
| title_full | Situatedness and Embodiment of Computational Systems |
| title_fullStr | Situatedness and Embodiment of Computational Systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Situatedness and Embodiment of Computational Systems |
| title_short | Situatedness and Embodiment of Computational Systems |
| title_sort | situatedness and embodiment of computational systems |
| topic | cognitive mechanisms informational interaction mechanistic explanation computational modeling |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/19/4/162 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marcinmiłkowski situatednessandembodimentofcomputationalsystems |