Plural Embodiment(s) of Mind. Genealogy and Guidelines for a Radically Embodied Approach to Mind and Consciousness
Frontiers in Psychology November 29, 2018 M. Ceruti, L. Damiano
This article traces an alternative line of development from Warren McCulloch's 'experimental epistemology' through cybernetic models—von Foerster's biological computer, Maturana and Varela's autopoietic system, and Varela's emergent selves—that diverges from mainstream computationalism. It argues these models provided a coherent methodological and theoretical path that empowered the biological orientation of McCulloch's approach, laying foundations for contemporary radically embodied theories of mind and consciousness, particularly the Thompson-Varela approach. The authors propose guidelines for future cognitive science and AI research that synthesize how these insights suggest accounting for the biological body's roles in cognitive processes, including consciousness.