Immersed in Immersion: Simulation as Technology and Theory of Mind

Abstract

Introduction: Cognitive theories involving the notion of simulation have developed hand in hand with the advancement and pervasiveness of simulation technologies. This intimate interrelation suggests the promise of implementing simulation technology in cognitive research, as well as in the facilitation and manipulation of cognitive and affective mechanisms for learning and training. In this chapter I describe the general interdependence of forms of technology and theories of mind, the former often furnishing metaphors for the latter, and offer a brief historical sketch leading up to the recent emergence of the centrality of simulation. I then follow with a critical evaluation of the role of simulation in current cognitive theories, and relate these critiques to philosophical concerns about the ontological, epistemological, and methodological status of modeling and simulation as a research tool. I end with some illustrative examples from cognitive research and therapy, and point towards potential future applications. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.