The Extended Mind refers to an emerging concept within the philosophy of mind that addresses the question as to the division point between the mind and the environment by promoting the view of active externalism. This view proposes that some objects in the external environment are utilized by the mind in such a way that the objects can be seen as extensions of the mind itself. Specifically, the mind is seen to encompass every level of the cognitive process, which will often include the use of environmental aids.
The seminal work in the field is The Extended Mind, by Andy Clark and David Chalmers. In this paper, Clark and Chalmers present the idea of active externalism, (similar to semantic or "content" externalism,) in which objects within the environment function as a part of the mind. They argue that it is arbitrary to say that the mind is contained only within the boundaries of the skull. The separation between the mind, the body, and the environment is seen as an unprincipled distinction. Because external objects play a significant role in aiding cognitive processes, the mind and the environment act as a "coupled system.” This coupled system can be seen as a complete cognitive system of its own. In this manner, the mind is extended into the external world. The main criterion that Clark and Chalmers outline for approaching the use of external environmental objects utilized during cognitive tasks as a part of an extended cognitive system is that the external objects must function with the same purpose as the internal processes.
In The Extended Mind, a thought experiment is presented to further illustrate the environment's role in connection to the mind. The fictional characters Otto and Inga are both travelling to a museum simultaneously. Otto has Alzheimer’s Disease, and has written all of his instructions down in a notebook to serve the function of his memory. Inga is able to recall the internal instructions within her memory. In a traditional sense, Inga can be thought to have had a belief as to the location of the museum before consulting her memory. In the same manner, Otto can be said to have held a belief of the location of the museum before consulting his notebook. The argument is that the only difference existing in these two cases is that Inga's memory is being internally processed by the brain, while Otto's memory is being served by the notebook. In other words, Otto's mind has been extended to include the notebook as the source of his memory. The notebook qualifies as such because it is constantly and immediately accessible to Otto, and it is automatically endorsed by him.
Robert K. Logan’s book The Extended Mind: The Emergence of Language, the Human Mind and Culture develops the theory that language extended the human brain into the mind. Building on his previous study, The Sixth Language: Learning a Living in the Internet Age, and making use of emergence theory, Logan explains how language emerged to deal with the complexity of hominid existence brought about by toolmaking, control of fire, social intelligence, coordinated hunting and gathering, and mimetic communication. The resulting emergence of language, he argues, signifies a fundamental change in the functioning of the human mind – a shift from percept-based thought to concept-based thought.
Objections
In The Extended Mind, Clark and Chalmers appear to confound a shared functionality for a shared type relation. For instance, in the thought experiment offered by Clark and Chalmers, the notebook is an external device used by an Alzheimer’s patient to store and recall information, because the patient (Otto) lacks a functioning memory. However, just because information in the notebook has the same function as the memories, or stored beliefs, of an ordinary person without Alzheimer’s, it does not follow that it is of the same type as a genuine memory or belief. Therefore, it is argued, the notebook is not an extension of the mind, nor does the information contained within it represent a genuine memory or belief.
However, it could be argued that if one allows for the possibility that in the future one's mind could be added to by computer devices that interact with the brain, then one must also allow that one's mind can be added to by use of a notebook. Although one could respond by pointing out that the notebook case is different, because in the case of the computer device there is direct interaction with the brain, whereas in the case of the notebook there is only indirect interaction via the senses.
External links
- http://consc.net/papers/extended.html - Chalmer and Clark's paper
- Offloading Cognition onto Cognitive Technology
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