Paul Matthews reviewed Supersizing the mind by Clark, Andy (Philosophy of mind)
Review of 'Supersizing the mind' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Clark builds on the (1998) extended mind thesis, incorporating additional evidence of the role of the body and external environment in cognitive processing. Clark stresses that this view doesn't discount traditional representation-based, internalist views of cognition, only widens the net to include the brain working in "soft assembled" partnership with the external world.
I struggled a bit with the later chapters which focus on addressing criticism of the extended mind approach and at times felt that there was some ?unproductive hair-splitting and language games going on, though by and large Clark is certainly systematic and seems to be very careful with his own choice of words.
The overall approach is that Clark is seeking a synthesis between "brainbound" views and radical embodied cognition, and I think he largely succeeds in finding the sweet spot.
Clark builds on the (1998) extended mind thesis, incorporating additional evidence of the role of the body and external environment in cognitive processing. Clark stresses that this view doesn't discount traditional representation-based, internalist views of cognition, only widens the net to include the brain working in "soft assembled" partnership with the external world.
I struggled a bit with the later chapters which focus on addressing criticism of the extended mind approach and at times felt that there was some ?unproductive hair-splitting and language games going on, though by and large Clark is certainly systematic and seems to be very careful with his own choice of words.
The overall approach is that Clark is seeking a synthesis between "brainbound" views and radical embodied cognition, and I think he largely succeeds in finding the sweet spot.