Political philosophy of mind: inverting the concepts, expanding the niche
Sofia Tzima, Jan Slaby
Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences December 18, 2024 DOI: 10.1007/s11097-024-10051-6 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that political philosophy of mind should adopt a post-cognitivist, embodied and situated view of cognition, move beyond the user/resource framework and the "dogma of harmony" in 4E approaches, and use a critical methodology of concept inversion and niche expansion to examine how affect and habit shape minds within oppressive and exploitative social structures. |
Abstract
This text maps out a territory for political philosophy of mind, with emphasis on habit, affect and an expanded notion of the social niche. We first survey the historical development of classic philosophy of mind towards the articulation of political philosophy of mind and discuss further influences for the field. We then outline commitments to relationality, dynamism, and emergence, to adopt a post-cognitivist view of cognition as embodied and situated, as ongoing dynamic interaction with the environment. We propose to move beyond the user/resource framework dominant in extended mind approaches and to surpass what Jesper Aagaard calls the “dogma of harmony” prevalent in 4E approaches. Moving beyond the individual subject, towards situated agents shaped by institutional procedures, social domains and subjectification practices, we highlight the role of affect and habit in processes of societal mind-shaping. We propose a critical methodology: inverting key concepts from philosophy of mind to bring out their ambivalent standing amidst oppressive and exploitative social structures, thereby expanding the purview of the socio-material niches in which cognitive and affective capacities are developed and expressed. We discuss work on habit in the enactivist and pragmatist traditions to put our method of concept inversion and niche expansion to work. The article is meant to be an introduction and invitation to join an emerging scholarly effort at the intersection of philosophy of mind, 4E cognitive science and social as well as political philosophy.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 11
- Memento’s Revenge: The Extended Mind, Extended The MIT Press eBooks May 21, 2010
- In Defense of Extended Functionalism The MIT Press eBooks May 21, 2010
- The Enactive Approach to Habits: New Concepts for the Cognitive Science of Bad Habits and Addiction Frontiers in Psychology February 26, 2019
- 4E cognition and the dogma of harmony Philosophical Psychology November 2, 2020
- Ecological Psychology and Enactivism: Perceptually-Guided Action vs. Sensation-Based Enaction. Frontiers in Psychology 2020
and 6 more in the library