Making it mental in search for the golden mean of

Authors: Itay Shani

Publish Date: 2012/09/12

Volume: 12, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-26

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Abstract

This paper engages the extended cognition controversy by advancing a theory which fits nicely into an attractive and surprisingly unoccupied conceptual niche situated comfortably between traditional individualism and the radical externalism espoused by the majority of supporters of the extended mind hypothesis I call this theory moderate active externalism or MAE In alliance with other externalist theories of cognition MAE is committed to the view that certain cognitive processes extend across brain body and world—a conclusion which follows from a theory I develop in “Synergic Coordination an argument for cognitive process externalism” Yet in contradistinction with radical externalism and in agreement with the internalist orthodoxy MAE defends the view that mental states are situated invariably inside our heads This is done inter alia by developing a novel hypothesis regarding the vehicles of content in “Extended cognition without externalized mental states” and by criticizing arguments in support of mental states externalism in “Reflections and objections” The result I believe is a coherent theoretical alternative worthy of serious considerationThis work was supported by a grant from Kyung Hee University in the year 2011 An early draft of the manuscript was presented at the Interactivist Summer Institute in Syros Greece July 30 2011 as well as at the Korean Society of Analytic Philosophy April 28 2012 I thank the participants for their helpful comments and for their encouragement I would also like to thank Alex Levine and Hyundeuk Cheon for reading an early version of the manuscript Andy Clark and Dan Weiskopf for helpful personal communication and two anonymous referees for this journal for their tremendously helpful comments

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