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“Embodying” the Internet: Towards the Moral Self via Communication Robots?
Abstract
Internet communication technology has been said to affect our sense of self by altering the way we construct “personal identity,” understood as identificatory valuative narratives about the self; in addition, some authors have warned that internet communication creates special conditions for moral agency that might gradually change our moral intuitions. Both of these effects are attributed to the fact that internet communication is “disembodied.” Our aim in this paper is to establish a link between this complex of claims and past and ongoing research in phenomenology, empirical psychology and cognitive science, in order to formulate an empirical hypothesis that can assist development and evaluation of recent technology for embodied telecommunication. We first suggest that for the purposes of interdisciplinary exchange, personal identity is formally best represented by a selection function that (for temporal intervals of variable length) “bundles” capacity ascriptions into identificatory narratives. Based on this model, we discuss which cultural changes engendered by the internet affect the construction of personal identity in ways that diminish our ethical sensitivies. In a second step, working from phenomenological claims by Martin Buber, we argue that disembodied communication severs two modes of cognitive function, preconceptual and conceptual, which tie together moral motivation, self-experience, and identity construction. We translate Buber’s claims into the theoretical idiom of the “theory of cognitive orientation,” a psychological theory of motivation that links up with recent research in embodied cognition. In a third step, we investigate whether the embodiment of the internet with communication robots (e.g., telenoids) holds out the prospect of reverting this structural change at least partially. We conclude by formulating an empirical hypothesis (for researchers in cognitive science) that has direct import, we submit, on the question whether embodied telecommunication promises a new form of ethically sensitive self-constituting encounter.
... Yet the existing research focus is on human willpower and adaptation, perhaps because of a tendency for modern society to favour control and the 'untragic' (Coeckelbergh 2010). This stigma may contribute to internet use's adverse effect on authentic self-identity and moral agency (Seibt and Nørskov 2012). ...
... While technologists have grown the world's digital competence in leaps and bounds, as indicated by Moore's law growth of processing power, for example, there has been comparatively little advancement in social interfaces and physical manipulators. Social communication robots, particularly in the roles of telepresence avatars, have previously been suggested as a promising solution to the embodiment issue (Seibt and Nørskov 2012). With an interconnected network of physical agents, the embodied empire may transform the world into a physical web of 'social' devices. ...
Weakness exploitation: Predicting socially communicative devices as a successor to internet-based graphical user interfaces ABSTRACT Existing theories of technology transitions cannot predict what new technological paradigm will supplant the currently leading, internet-enabled graphical user interface paradigm. This article introduces a preliminary approach ('weak-ness exploitation') to explain the rise and fall of four technology 'empires': print, television, the internet and socially interactive devices (such as robots, chatbots and internet of things devices). The approach is related to technology diffusion and disruptive innovation, but with a predictive element induced from Marshall McLuhan's descriptions of print and television as 'extensions' of the senses. It is applied to the internet as an historical example of a technology transition outside of McLuhan's original analysis and to explain why excessive exposure to screen-rendered digital media as the internet's exclusive access point may be replaced by a new 'age' of computationally intelligent, socially communicative devices. This new KEYWORDS media ecology media progression robots internet of things conversational agents philosophy of technology technology adoption innovation Delivered by Intellect to: Mark Chignell (33329033) approach can help researchers and technologists conceptualize transitions between usage of incumbent and emerging technologies.
... For those who have been a ected by the digital divide, embodied communication technology like the Telenoid robot can provide an easy and attractive way to remotely communicate with others, and promote social interactions in both verbal and non-verbal ways. Recent attempts to re-embody the internet, with help from robotics, has left a question of determining in what way aspects of physical contact could be optimal conditions for communication (Seibt and Nørskov, 2012). In the line of these attempts, we explore the e cacy of telecommunication media that provide physical contacts and that acceptance might di er in di erent environments and culture. ...
There is a lack of physical contact in current telecommunications such as text messaging and Internet access. To challenge the limitation and re-embody telecommunication, researchers have attempted to introduce tactile stimulation to media and developed huggable devices. Previous experiments in Japan showed that a huggable communication technology, i.e., Hugvie decreased stress level of its female users. In the present experiment in Denmark, we aim to investigate (i) whether Hugvie can decrease stress cross-culturally, i.e., Japanese vs. Danish participants (ii), investigate whether gender plays a role in this psychological effect (stress reduction) and (iii) if there is a preference of this type of communication technology (Hugvie vs. a regular telephone). Twenty-nine healthy elderly participated (15 female and 14 male, M = 64.52 years, SD = 5.67) in Jutland, Denmark. The participants filled out questionnaires including State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), and Becks Depression Inventory, had a 15 min conversation via phone or Hugvie and were interviewed afterward. They spoke with an unknown person of opposite gender during the conversation; the same two conversation partners were used during the experiment and the Phone and Hugvie groups were equally balanced. There was no baseline difference between the Hugvie and Phone groups on age or anxiety or depression scores. In the Hugvie group, there was a statistically significant reduction on state anxiety after meeting Hugvie (p = 0.013). The change in state anxiety for the Hugvie group was positively correlated with openness (r = 0.532, p = 0.041) as measured by the NEO-FFI. This indicates that openness to experiences may increase the chances of having an anxiety reduction from being with Hugvie. Based on the results, we see that personality may affect the participants’ engagement and benefits from Hugvie. We discuss the implications of the results and further elaborations.
Zusammenfassung
Durch die Arbeit von Ermittlungsbehörden ins Hellfeld gekommene Online-Plattformen wie „Elysium“ oder „Boystown“ zeigen in drastischer Weise auf, wie weit verbreitet sexueller Kindesmissbrauch und entsprechend dokumentierte Taten in den digitalen Medien sind. Doch dies ist nicht die einzige Erkenntnis daraus, sondern es wird auch deutlich, wie verbreitet die teils weltweite Vernetzung pädosexuell interessierter Menschen ist. Denn der Cyberspace bietet Möglichkeiten, deviante sexuelle Interessen in einem abgeschotteten Raum auszuleben und sich mit Gleichgesinnten austauschen zu können. Da entsprechende Plattformen und Foren meist frei von einer Gesellschaft mit korrektiven, missbrauchsächtenden Haltungen sind, werden deviante Fantasien ungebremst kommuniziert und wechselseitig bestärkt. Das vorliegende Kapitel befasst sich daher mit Einflussfaktoren durch die digitale Vernetzung pädosexuell interessierter Menschen auf die Integration missbrauchsbegünstigender Einstellungen in die eigene Identität und somit auf die Erhöhung des Risikos der Begehung sexueller Missbrauchstaten.
The field of social robotics offers an unprecedented opportunity to probe the process of impression formation and the effects of identity-based stereotypes (e.g. about gender or race) on social judgements and interactions. We present the concept of fair proxy communication—a form of robot-mediated communication that proceeds in the absence of potentially biasing identity cues—and describe how this application of social robotics may be used to illuminate implicit bias in social cognition and inform novel interventions to reduce bias. We discuss key questions and challenges for the use of robots in research on the social cognition of bias and offer some practical recommendations. We conclude by discussing boundary conditions of this new form of interaction and by raising some ethical concerns about the inclusion of social robots in psychological research and interventions.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘From social brains to social robots: applying neurocognitive insights to human–robot interaction’.
In this chapter, after reviewing some of the traditional ToM models of social cognition, I outline an alternative model on the basis of evidence from developmental psychology and phenomenology. In this alternative model, embodied, second-person interaction plays a central (although not an exclusive) role in our ability to understand other people. Finally, I discuss a recent development of simulation theory (ST) that champions an embodied simulationist approach.
The aim of this article is to explore implications of globalization for adolescent cultural identity formation. The thesis is that adolescents increasingly form multicultural identities because they grow up knowing diverse cultural beliefs and behaviors. First, ways that adolescents increasingly have exposure to different cultures are illustrated with ethnographic and cross-cultural work. Then, 3 emerging research issues are raised: (a) the extent to which it is important whether a multicultural identity is based on first-hand versus indirect (media-based) interactions with diverse peoples, (b) how cultural identity formation may take diverse developmental paths depending on the particular cultures involved, and (c) gains and losses that occur when persons form a multicultural identity rather than an identity based primarily on one cultural tradition. Finally, the article suggests using multiple methods that are sensitive to different perspectives in research on globalization and adolescent identity formation.
Of the many opportunities and affordances that mobile technologies bring to our day-to-day lives, the ability to cheat physical separation and remain acces-sible to each other—in an instant—also brings pressure to bear on well-estab-lished social conventions as to how we should act when we are engaged with others in shared spaces. In this paper we explore some ethical dimensions of mobile communication by considering the manner in which individuals in everyday contexts balance interpretations of emergent social conventions with personal desires to connect in the moment. As we later discuss, the decisions made in response to a ringing mobile phone or flashing text message emerge from consequential versus deontological ethical frames used to determine what to do versus what we ought to do. This is particularly true in western and North American cultural contexts from which our data are collected. Using Goffman's dramaturgy, we suggest that these conflicts occurring on an indivi-dual level provide evidence of social structure, and are simultaneously ent-wined with our less obvious ruminations on the maintenance of social order.
Kim's argument appears to render causally efficacious emergence impossible: Hume's argument appears to render normative emergence impossible, and, in its general form, it precludes any emergence at all. I argue that both of these barriers can be overcome, and, in fact, that they each constitute reductions of their respective underlying presuppositions. In particular, causally efficacious ontological emergence can be modeled, but only within a process metaphysics, thus avoiding Kim's argument, and making use of non-abbreviatory forms of definition, thus avoiding Hume's argument. I illustrate these points with models of the emergent nature of normative function and of representation.
This book contributes to the idea that to have an understanding of the mind, consciousness, or cognition, a detailed scientific and phenomenological understanding of the body is essential. There is still a need to develop a common vocabulary that is capable of integrating discussions of brain mechanisms in neuroscience, behavioral expressions in psychology, design concerns in artificial intelligence and robotics, and debates about embodied experience in the phenomenology and philosophy of mind. This book helps to formulate this common vocabulary by developing a conceptual framework that avoids both the overly reductionistic approaches that explain everything in terms of bottom-up neuronal mechanisms, and the inflationistic approaches that explain everything in terms of Cartesian, top-down cognitive states. Through discussions of neonate imitation, the Molyneux problem, gesture, self-awareness, free will, social cognition and intersubjectivity, as well as pathologies such as deafferentation, unilateral neglect, phantom limb, autism and schizophrenia, the book proposes to remap the conceptual landscape by revitalizing the concepts of body image and body schema, proprioception, ecological experience, intermodal perception, and enactive concepts of ownership and agency for action. Informed by both philosophical theory and scientific evidence, it addresses two basic sets of questions that concern the structure of embodied experience. First, questions about the phenomenal aspects of that structure, specifically the relatively regular and constant phenomenal features found in the content of experience. Second, questions about aspects of the structure of consciousness that are more hidden, those that may be more difficult to get at because they happen before one knows it, and do not normally enter into the phenomenal content of experience in an explicit way.
This paper describes two field tests conducted with shopping mall visitors and with aged persons defined as in their 70s to 90s. For both of the field tests, we used an android we developed called Telenoid R1 or just Telenoid. In the following field tests we interviewed participants about their impressions of the Telenoid. The results of the shopping mall showed that almost half of the interviewees felt negative toward Telenoid until they hugged it, after which opinions became positive. Results of the other test showed that the majority of aged persons reported a positive opinion and, interestingly, all aged persons who interacted with Telenoid gave it a hug without any suggestion to do so. This suggests that older persons find Telenoid to be acceptable medium for the elderly. Younger persons may also find Telenoid acceptable, seeing that visitors developed positive feelings toward the robot after giving it a hug. These results should prove valuable in our future work with androids.
Nonverbal communication is an important aspect of real-life face-to-face interaction and one of the most efficient ways to convey emotions, therefore users should be provided the means to replicate it in the virtual world. Because articulated embodiments are well suited to provide body communication in virtual environments, this paper first reviews some of the advantages and disadvantages of complex embodiments. After a brief introduction to nonverbal communication theories, we present our solution, taking into account the practical limitations of input devices and social science aspects. We introduce our sample of actions and implementation using our VLNET (Virtual Life Network) networked virtual environment and discuss the results of an informal evaluation experiment.
This work was supported in part by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan.
Over the last decade, there has been an increasing body of work that explores whether sensory and motor information is a necessary part of semantic representation and processing. This is the embodiment hypothesis. This paper presents a theoretical review of this work that is intended to be useful for researchers in the neurosciences and neuropsychology. Beginning with a historical perspective, relevant theories are placed on a continuum from strongly embodied to completely unembodied representations. Predictions are derived and neuroscientific and neuropsychological evidence that could support different theories is reviewed; finally, criticisms of embodiment are discussed. We conclude that strongly embodied and completely disembodied theories are not supported, and that the remaining theories agree that semantic representation involves some form of convergence zones (Damasio, 1989) and the activation of modal content. For the future, research must carefully define the boundaries of semantic processing and tackle the representation of abstract entities.
The Internet could change the lives of average citizens as much as did the telephone in the early part of the 20th century and television in the 1950s and 1960s. Researchers and social critics are debating whether the Internet is improving or harming participation in community life and social relationships. This research examined the social and psychological impact of the Internet on 169 people in 73 households during their first 1 to 2 years on-line. We used longitudinal data to examine the effects of the Internet on social involvement and psychological well-being. In this sample, the Internet was used extensively for communication. Nonetheless, greater use of the Internet was associated with declines in participants' communication with family members in the household, declines in the size of their social circle, and increases in their depression and loneliness. These findings have implications for research, for public policy and for the design of technology.
To characterize the neural correlates of being personally involved in social interaction as opposed to being a passive observer of social interaction between others we performed an fMRI study in which participants were gazed at by virtual characters (ME) or observed them looking at someone else (OTHER). In dynamic animations virtual characters then showed socially relevant facial expressions as they would appear in greeting and approach situations (SOC) or arbitrary facial movements (ARB). Differential neural activity associated with ME>OTHER was located in anterior medial prefrontal cortex in contrast to the precuneus for OTHER>ME. Perception of socially relevant facial expressions (SOC>ARB) led to differentially increased neural activity in ventral medial prefrontal cortex. Perception of arbitrary facial movements (ARB>SOC) differentially activated the middle temporal gyrus. The results, thus, show that activation of medial prefrontal cortex underlies both the perception of social communication indicated by facial expressions and the feeling of personal involvement indicated by eye gaze. Our data also demonstrate that distinct regions of medial prefrontal cortex contribute differentially to social cognition: whereas the ventral medial prefrontal cortex is recruited during the analysis of social content as accessible in interactionally relevant mimic gestures, differential activation of a more dorsal part of medial prefrontal cortex subserves the detection of self-relevance and may thus establish an intersubjective context in which communicative signals are evaluated.
1. Traits: The Embattled Concept.- 2. Toward a Solution.- 3. The Trait and Its Constituents.- 4. Trait Dynamics.- 5. Characteristics of the Trait Pattern.- 6. A Methodological Interlude.- 7. The Answers: A Summary of Contributions.- 8. Traits and Human Behavior.- 9. Studies on Traits.- 10. Assessment of Personality Traits.- 11. Identifying Personality Traits.- 12. Characterizing Trait Scales and Factors.- 13. Meaning-Based Validation of Personality Traits.- Postscript.- Appendixes.- Appendix A. The Meaning Variables: List and Code.- Appendix B. Summary of Manifestations of Meaning Variables.- Appendix C. General Instructions for Coding the Meaning Questionnaire.- References.
The Handbook of Cognitive Science provides an overview of recent developments in cognition research, relying upon non-classical approaches. Cognition is explained as the continuous interplay between brain, body, and environment, without relying on classical notions of computations and representation to explain cognition. The handbook serves as a valuable companion for readers interested in foundational aspects of cognitive science, and neuroscience and the philosophy of mind. The handbook begins with an introduction to embodied cognitive science, and then breaks up the chapters into separate sections on conceptual issues, formal approaches, embodiment in perception and action, embodiment from an artificial perspective, embodied meaning, and emotion and consciousness. Contributors to the book represent research overviews from around the globe including the US, UK, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, France, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
I seek to address three major but interrelated questions. First, how do emerging information technologies interact with our sense of self/selves, i.e., who we (believe we) are as human beings? Second, what sort of Good Life – including what sort of polity/polities – might be possible for these (changing) selves, both individually and collectively? Third, what sorts of choices and decisions will we need to make regarding the sort of self/selves we will become through our interactions with new media, in order to realize the better possible futures available to these sorts of selves?
Kim's argument appears to render causally efficacious emergence impossible: Hume's argument appears to render normative emergence impossible, and, in its general form, it precludes any emergence at all. I argue that both of these barriers can be overcome, and, in fact, that they each constitute reductions of their respective underlying presuppositions. In particular, causally efficacious ontological emergence can be modeled, but only within a process metaphysics, thus avoiding Kim's argument, and making use of non-abbreviatory forms of definition, thus avoiding Hume's argument. I illustrate these points with models of the emergent nature of normative function and of representation.
Organizational Identity presents the classic works on organizational identity alongside more current thinking on the issues. Ranging from theoretical contributions to empirical studies, the readings in this volume address the key issues of organizational identity, and show how these issues have developed through contributions from such diverse fields of study as sociology, psychology, management studies and cultural studies. The readings examine questions such as how organizations understand who they are, why organizations develop a sense of identity and belonging where the boundaries of identity lie and the implications of postmodern and critical theories' challenges to the concept of identity as deeply-rooted and authentic. Includes work by: Stuart Albert, Mats Alvesson, Blake E. Ashforth, Marilynn B. Brewer, George Cheney, Lars Thoger Christensen, C.H. Cooley, Kevin G. Corley, Barbara Czarniawska, Janet M. Dukerich, Jane E. Dutton, Kimberly D. Elsbach, Wendi Gardner, Linda E. Ginzela, Dennis A. Gioia, E. Goffman, Karen Golden-Biddle, Mary Jo Hatch, Roderick M. Kramer, Fred Rael, G.H. Mead, Michael G. Pratt, Anat Rafaeli, Hayagreeva Rao, Majken Schultz, Howard S. Schwartz, Robert I. Sutton, Henri Taijfel, John Turner, David A. Wherren, and Hugh Willmott. Intended to provide easy access to this material for students of organizational identity, it will also be of interest more broadly to students of business, sociology and psychology.
INTRODUCTION: With unprecedented global access, speed, and relative anonymity with respect to how one is able to present oneself to and interact with others, computer-mediated communication (hereafter CMC) contexts provide many new worlds through which we may express and develop our identities as persons and form relationships with others. Through text-based e-mail and chat-room style forums, or Web site and Web cam technology, we may present or even “showcase’ ourselves to others, and we may enter and contribute to all sorts of communities, such as hobby and mutual interest groups, and develop various sorts of relationships with others. Indeed, for many people, significant aspects of key roles and relationships in their professional, business, and even personal lives are now conducted online. It makes sense then, to consider if these CMC contexts, where people are increasingly presenting themselves to and undertaking various activities and relationships with others, might tailor the content of these relationships and the self that is presented to others online in any notable ways. For many, opportunities to express and form relationships have been enormously increased by computer communication technology. But what sorts of identities and relationships are really possible online? How might our pursuit of values that constitute and regulate our ideals of personal identity and various significant relationships be sensitive to such communication environments? It is clear that contextual features of the setting within which we express ourselves to others can significantly influence the content and nature of our communication.
In this introduction, Guest Editor Johanna Seibt examines the importance of identity for the process of conflict transformation, while giving an overview of key concepts and the pieces that make up this special colloquy edition of Conflict Resolution Quarterly.
The study dealt with the particular contents subjects apply in a cognitive task. The hypotheses were that the frequency of specific contents would be related to the subject's information processing tendencies assessed in terms of the meaning system (Kreitler and Kreitler), that each content variable would be related to a pattern of meaning variables and that in some cases these patterns would resemble in structural features those related to personality traits, particularly cognitive traits. The subjects, 50 undergraduates of both genders, were administered in separate sessions a standard meaning questionnaire, assessing tendencies to use the meaning variables, and 10 planning tasks, coded in terms of eight conceptually-based variables (categories of contents, e.g., emotional, quantitative) and five factorially-based variables (defined on the basis of a factor-analysis of all responses, e.g., concern for aesthetics and external appearance, formal administrative arrangements). The findings showed that each content variable was related to a particular pattern of meaning variables providing insight into its cognitive dynamics. Six conceptually-based variables were related to patterns similar to those related to traits, not only cognitive. Discussion focuses on implications for the study of contents and of traits.
Examined the role of cognitive contents as antecedents of curiosity. Following the theory of cognitive orientation and a previous factor-analytic study of curiosity behaviors, the hypothesis was that a measure of cognitive contents reflecting 4 belief types would predict curiosity behaviors. Ss were 84 US 1st-grade boys and girls. They were administered 5 tasks which yielded 20 measures of curiosity behaviors and a questionnaire of the cognitive orientation of curiosity which enabled assessment of the 4 belief types. A measure reflecting all belief types predicted curiosity behaviors on 14 of the 20 original measures, the unpredicted measures being mostly unrelated to curiosity. Implications for the cognitive orientation theory and for curiosity training are discussed. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Studied cognitive antecedents of 5 types of curiosity behaviors within the context of the psychosemantic theory of cognition. Human subjects: 80 male and female Israeli children (5–8 yrs) (1st grade students). Curiosity variables were assessed via analysis of Ss' behaviors during experimental curiosity tasks, and cognitive antecedents were assessed via a questionnaire about the meaning of variables that enable children to master cognitive tasks in general. (German abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study explores the effects of conflict on the identities of Sudanese refugees back in Sudan and then in Cairo, namely the experience of ambiguous, ambivalent, and conflicting identities. The conflict in Sudan caused multiple ruptures to the refugees' previously established identities. In Egypt, they come into contact and conflict with the host community, organizations, and fellow Sudanese from different regions or ethnic backgrounds, which creates tensions in religious, tribal, or ethnic identities. Such identity issues were manifested in extreme form during the tragic 2005 Sudanese refugee sit-in. The conclusion sheds light on implications for conflict resolution.
I argue that the Parmenidean argument against the possibility of change initiated a metaphysical response that (1) has dominated
Western thought since, and (2) creates aporia for understanding mental phenomena. A return to a process framework is consistent
with historical trends, consistent with contemporary physics, and permits metaphysical emergence – most especially the emergence
of normative function and representation: intentionality. I show that contemporary alternative models of representation are
still caught in the classic assumptions and, in consequence, cannot model or account for the inherent normative issues (Bickhard
2010).
Why computer games can be ethical, how players use their ethical values in gameplay, and the implications for game design.
Despite the emergence of computer games as a dominant cultural industry (and the accompanying emergence of computer games as the subject of scholarly research), we know little or nothing about the ethics of computer games. Considerations of the morality of computer games seldom go beyond intermittent portrayals of them in the mass media as training devices for teenage serial killers. In this first scholarly exploration of the subject, Miguel Sicart addresses broader issues about the ethics of games, the ethics of playing the games, and the ethical responsibilities of game designers. He argues that computer games are ethical objects, that computer game players are ethical agents, and that the ethics of computer games should be seen as a complex network of responsibilities and moral duties. Players should not be considered passive amoral creatures; they reflect, relate, and create with ethical minds. The games they play are ethical systems, with rules that create gameworlds with values at play. Drawing on concepts from philosophy and game studies, Sicart proposes a framework for analyzing the ethics of computer games as both designed objects and player experiences. After presenting his core theoretical arguments and offering a general theory for understanding computer game ethics, Sicart offers case studies examining single-player games (using Bioshock as an example), multiplayer games (illustrated by Defcon), and online gameworlds (illustrated by World of Warcraft) from an ethical perspective. He explores issues raised by unethical content in computer games and its possible effect on players and offers a synthesis of design theory and ethics that could be used as both analytical tool and inspiration in the creation of ethical gameplay.
The management of group context in socially mediating technologies is an important challenge for the design community. To better understand how users manage group context, we explored the practice of multiple profile management in social media. In doing so, we observed creative and opportunistic strategies for group context management. We found that multiple profile maintenance is motivated by four factors: privacy, identity, utility, and propriety. Drawing on these motives, we observe a continuum of boundary regulation behaviors: pseudonymity, practical obscurity, and transparent separation. Based on these findings, we encourage designers of group context management systems to more broadly consider motives and practices of group separations in social media. Group context management systems should be privacy-enhancing, but a singular focus on privacy overlooks a range of other group context management practices.
This ambitious work aims to shed new light on the relations between Husserlian phenomenology and the present-day efforts toward a scientific theory of cognitionâwith its complex structure of disciplines, levels of explanation, and conflicting hypotheses. The bookâs primary goal is not to present a new exegesis of Husserlâs writings, although it does not dismiss the importance of such interpretive and critical work. Rather, the contributors assess the extent to which the kind of phenomenological investigation Husserl initiated favors the construction of a scientific theory of cognition, particularly in contributing to specific contemporary theories either by complementing or by questioning them. What clearly emerges is that Husserlian phenomenology cannot become instrumental in developing cognitive science without undergoing a substantial transformation. Therefore, the central concern of this book is not only the progress of contemporary theories of cognition but also the reorientation of Husserlian phenomenology. Because a single volume could never encompass the numerous facets of this dual aim, the contributors focus on the issue of naturalization. This perspective is far-reaching enough to allow for the coverage of a great variety of topics, ranging from general structures of intentionality, to the nature of the founding epistemological and ontological principles of cognitive science, to analyses of temporality and perception and the mathematical modeling of their phenomenological description. This book, then, is a collective reflection on the possibility of utilizing a naturalized Husserlian phenomenology to contribute to a scientific theory of cognition that fills the explanatory gap between the phenomenological mind and brain.
Many current neurophysiological, psychophysical, and psychological approaches to vision rest on the idea that when we see, the brain produces an internal representation of the world. The activation of this internal representation is assumed to give rise to the experience of seeing. The problem with this kind of approach is that it leaves unexplained how the existence of such a detailed internal representation might produce visual consciousness. An alternative proposal is made here. We propose that seeing is a way of acting. It is a particular way of exploring the environment. Activity in internal representations does not generate the experience of seeing. The outside world serves as its own, external, representation. The experience of seeing occurs when the organism masters what we call the governing laws of sensorimotor contingency. The advantage of this approach is that it provides a natural and principled way of accounting for visual consciousness, and for the differences in the perceived quality of sensory experience in the different sensory modalities. Several lines of empirical evidence are brought forward in support of the theory, in particular: evidence from experiments in sensorimotor adaptation, visual "filling in," visual stability despite eye movements, change blindness, sensory substitution, and color perception.
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