Cognition and Body: A Perspective from Theoretical Psychology

Abstract

The article stands in the position of theoretical psychology, and exploresthe possible relationship between cognition and the body from the dimensions of the body. The article points out that, dualism has always dominated Western culture since ancient Greece. Plato is the earliest representative of the dualism thought. Descartes confirms the existence of the binary world of mind and matter from epistemology.Traditional cognitive psychology inherits the dualistic tradition of separation of mind and body, and regards the mind as the processing of abstract symbolic informationindependent of the body s sensory movement system. But the rise of personal cognition challenges the dualism. From the perspective of the body, cognition is the cognition of the body, and the body is the subject of cognition. Cognition shows dependence on the body in three ways: a. The body limits the characteristics and scope of cognition. The body structure of the organism and the ability of the body is limiting the nature and content of cognitive representation; b. The body not only limits cognitive processing, but also can be used as an integral part of cognitive processing to distribute cognitive tasks between the brain and the body, playing a role similar to a distributor; c. The body regulates cognition, affecting mental processessuch as thinking, judgment, emotion, and motivation. The above facts show that mind and body are not binary, but one and the interaction between body and environment create mind and cognition. The mind, body, and environment are the process of integration.