17 - Embodied cognition advent calendar

Embodied cognition: the body influencing the mind

Philosopher Andy Clark explores the concept of embodied cognition with Informatics colleague Barbara Web

Not only is the mind connected to the body, but the body greatly influences the mind. That’s the idea behind embodied cognition.

The brain is not the only resource we have available to us to create behaviour. Instead, our behaviour appears from a real-time interaction between the body and an environment that creates opportunities for behaviour and also information about those opportunities.

Andy Clark, a philosopher at the University of Edinburgh, is fascinated by the complex interplay between what the brain is doing and what the body is doing.

In this online lecture series on embodied cognition, Andy teamed up with Informatics colleague Barbara Webb to explain the concept.

“When we look at this from a robot perspective we sometimes find that you don’t need a brain at all”

– Barbara Webb
Professor in Biorobotics at the University of Edinburgh

About Andy Clark

Andy Clark is Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at the University of Edinburgh. His research interests include robotics, artificial life, embodied cognition, mind, technology, and culture.

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