Abstract

A growing number of researchers in cognitive science argue that we should adopt an Embodied approach to cognition in order to answer long standing questions concerning how the mind works, such as how an organism develops cognitively complex behaviors . Specifically, Embodied theorists argue that a necessary condition for cognition is embodiment, where embodiment is understood as the unique way an organism's sensorimotor capacities enable it to interact in the world. Embodied theorists further argue that this crucial connection is overlooked in current theories of the mind, resulting in their limited success at explaining how cognition develops. ;The central goal of my project was to develop a theoretical framework capable of evaluating particular Embodied Accounts in terms of their ability to explain cognitive complexity. I maintained that the need for such a framework is apparent for two reasons: Embodied theorists are making claims about the nature of mind that if substantiated require revision of our current theories, and currently there is no systematic means of evaluation of Embodied accounts existing in the philosophical or cognitive science literature. Therefore, I created a framework to evaluate individual Embodied Accounts so that the general research program can then be assessed. ;In chapter 1, I offered the first attempt in the literature to describe the general approach in terms of a set of basic theoretical assumptions, despite the diversity of individual Embodied Accounts. In chapter 2, I developed the theoretical framework used to evaluate individual Embodied Accounts in terms of their ability to explain cognitive complexity. I then demonstrated how this framework should be applied in chapters 3 and 4. In chapter 5, I argued that Embodied accounts should not be rejected on the grounds that they are not properly cognitive. ;Although it is too early to draw any generalizations about the viability of Embodied cognition as a research program, my initial evaluations of two Embodied accounts serve as preliminary data for our larger assessment, and an instructive model of how the evaluative process works