Boundaries of the Mind: The Individual in the Fragile Sciences
Encyclopedia
Boundaries of the Mind is a thorough treatment of the role and conceptualization of the individual in psychology
, by author Robert A. Wilson, a professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Alberta
.
The book is divided into four parts:
, and theory of mind
.
Its complicated processes of awareness extend beyond the immediate subject in space and time. They exploit information-rich external bits of language and navigation equipment (the scaffolds) and rely on dynamic relations between the subject's body and the environment in which it is located.
This approach can be extended to phenomenal consciousness, arguing that a phenomenal property is not an intrinsic property of experience but rather a feature of the representation of its objects. As such, phenomenal properties inherit their importance from the intentional contents to which they apply. According to representationalists such as Fred Dretske
, William Lycan
, and Michael Tye
- phenomenal consciousness is externalistic. Thus Wilson thinks that this global externalism goes both too far and not far enough.
TESEE conceptions of vision and visual consciousness relies on the sensorimotor theory of visual consciousness of philosophers Alva Noë
and Susan Hurley
, and psychologist J. Kevin O'Regan
, arguing that vision, like touch, involves active and dynamic exploration of the contingent features of the environment.
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, by author Robert A. Wilson, a professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
.
Structure
It is the first book in a planned three-volume set, entitled The Individual in the Fragile Sciences. The second volume examines the individual in biological sciences and the third, the individual's role in social sciences.The book is divided into four parts:
- Part I motivates the study of the individual in psychology, provides a frameworkConceptual frameworkA conceptual framework is used in research to outline possible courses of action or to present a preferred approach to an idea or thought. For example, the philosopher Isaiah Berlin used the "hedgehogs" versus "foxes" approach; a "hedgehog" might approach the world in terms of a single organizing...
for contrasting nativist and empiricist views and provides a history of psychology that traces its gradual independence from physiologyPhysiologyPhysiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
and philosophy to a subject in its own right.
- Part II spans topics for which Wilson is already well-known: the individualism-externalism debate, narrow and wide content, and the metaphysicsMetaphysicsMetaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
of realization.
- Part III explores the consequences of this radical form of externalismExternalismExternalism is a group of positions in the philosophy of mind which hold that the mind is not only the result of what is going on inside the nervous system but also of what either occur or exist outside the subject. It is often contrasted with internalism which holds that the mind emerges out of...
from the perspective of various research programs in psychology: memory, developmentDevelopmental psychologyDevelopmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to...
, and theory of mind. Wilson applies his externalist framework to stake out his own conception of consciousness, the TESEE acronym: Temporally Extended, Scaffolded, Embodied, Embedded.
- Part IV closes the book with a discussion of the cognitive metaphor in the biological and social sciencesSocial sciencesSocial science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
.
Approach
TESEE is an approach to the processes of awareness/introspection, meta-representation and attention. It is continuous with the embedded and embodied approach to memory, cognitive developmentCognitive development
Cognitive development is a field of study in neuroscience and psychology focusing on a child's development in terms of information processing, conceptual resources, perceptual skill, language learning, and other aspects of brain development and cognitive psychology compared to an adult's point of...
, and theory of mind
Theory of mind
Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states—beliefs, intents, desires, pretending, knowledge, etc.—to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires and intentions that are different from one's own...
.
Its complicated processes of awareness extend beyond the immediate subject in space and time. They exploit information-rich external bits of language and navigation equipment (the scaffolds) and rely on dynamic relations between the subject's body and the environment in which it is located.
This approach can be extended to phenomenal consciousness, arguing that a phenomenal property is not an intrinsic property of experience but rather a feature of the representation of its objects. As such, phenomenal properties inherit their importance from the intentional contents to which they apply. According to representationalists such as Fred Dretske
Fred Dretske
Frederick Irwin Dretske is a philosopher noted for his contributions to epistemology and the philosophy of mind. His more recent work centers on conscious experience and self-knowledge. Additionally, he was awarded the Jean Nicod Prize in 1994...
, William Lycan
William Lycan
William G. Lycan is a noted American philosopher teaching at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,where he is the William Rand Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor. He won the Class of 2001 Outstanding Faculty Award and a Distinguished Teaching Award for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction in...
, and Michael Tye
Michael Tye (philosopher)
Michael Tye is a philosopher at the University of Texas at Austin who has made significant contributions to the philosophy of mind. He was educated at Oxford University in England, studying first physics and then physics and philosophy. Before moving to Texas, Tye taught at Temple University in...
- phenomenal consciousness is externalistic. Thus Wilson thinks that this global externalism goes both too far and not far enough.
TESEE conceptions of vision and visual consciousness relies on the sensorimotor theory of visual consciousness of philosophers Alva Noë
Alva Noë
Alva Noë is an externalist philosopher and university professor. The main focus of his work is the theory of perception and consciousness...
and Susan Hurley
Susan Hurley
Susan Lynn Hurley was appointed professor in the department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick in 1994, professor of philosophy at Bristol University from 2006 and the first woman fellow of All Souls, Oxford. She wrote on practical philosophy as well as on...
, and psychologist J. Kevin O'Regan
J. Kevin O'Regan
John Kevin O'Regan is director of the "Laboratoire de Psychologie de la Perception" at the Université René Descartes, Paris 5 . He was the last director of the "Laboratoire de Psychologie Expérimentale" before its dissolution in 2006.After studying theoretical physics at Sussex and Cambridge...
, arguing that vision, like touch, involves active and dynamic exploration of the contingent features of the environment.