The Material, Cultural, and Relational Environment in the New Cognitive Sciences
Carmela Morabito, Surya Pacifici
Laboratorio dell'ISPF February 13, 2026 DOI: 10.12862/lab25mrb (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | 4e cognition Enactivism Environment Relationality Material engagement theory |
| Key points | Argues that the environment in cognitive science has shifted from a passive backdrop to an active, co-constitutive dimension of cognition, shaped by sensorimotor activity and embodied action across material, affective, and cultural scales. |
Abstract
The paper addresses the epistemological reconfiguration in contemporary cognitive science of the notion of environment, which has shifted from passive backdrop to an active, co-constitutive dimension of cognition. It reviews the dismantling of traditional dichotomies (mind/body, subject/object) through the lens of the model of 4E cognition (Embodied, Embedded, Enacted, Extended), that, drawing on Bernard, von Uexküll, Gibson, Lewin and the enactivits Varela, Thompson and Rosch, emphasizes the dynamical interaction of the organism with its environment. The environment is recast as a relational and open process, shaped by sensorimotor activity and embodied action. Finally, through the integration of Malafouris’ Material Engagament Theory with recent findings in epigenetics and neuroplasticity, it is underscored how cognition, as a relational process, is shaped at different ontogenetic and developmental scales by material, affective and cultural environments.