The study of cognition: towards an embodied perspective

Abstract

The field of cognition has had a long history where formal models, the body, and interaction with the physical and social world have had varied meanings and roles. In recent years, proposals have tried to reintroduce the body and the cognitive variability resulting from sensitivity to rich and unpredictable contexts. This article presents the autopoietic enactivism, one of the essential versions of embodied theories within the cognitive sciences, pointing out some limitations of classical information processing theories and their notions of representation. In this distancing, cognitive sciences have recovered the body, the sensitivity and flexibility of cognitive processes, the dynamic nature of experience, and the value of the cultural systems that support cognitive activity.