Thinking in practice: a unified ecological-enactive account 01/10/2017 - 31/03/2021

Abstract

Contemporary approaches to cognitive science consider perceiving as something we do, rather than as something that happens to us. Perception in these views does not instill a representation in our mind. But can we extend this non-representational approach to thinking as well? The aim of this project is to show what a non-representational account of thinking looks like from the combined perspective of ecological psychology and enactivism. To do this, first the ecological notion of "affordances" will be refined along enactivist lines, and second this notion will be applied to an analysis of thinking in scientific practices. This provides a proof in practice of the potential of an ecological-enactive approach to elucidate thinking. From this analysis of scientific practices moreover, it can be seen how an ecological-enactive approach implies a new sense of continuity between psychology and the practice of science.

Researcher(s)

Research team(s)

Project type(s)

  • Research Project