I am grateful to John Schwenkler for giving me the opportunity to present my first book Cognitive Structural Realism, which aims to consolidate the ties between the philosophy of science and cognitive science. There already is some connection between these fields, given that the philosophy of cognitive science is a …
The Brains blog is excited about the next Neural Mechanisms webinar this Friday. It is free. Find information about how and when to join the webinar here: https://www.neuralmechanisms.org/blog/webinar-julia-haas-8-february-2019 (and below). Revisiting Binocular Rivalry Julia Haas (Australian National University) February 8, 2019 Webinarh 8-10 – Greenwhich Mean Time (Convert to your local time …
To avoid becoming a victim of violent assault, people are often coached to trust their gut feelings. “Trust your INSTINCTS,” the University of Oklahoma Police Department says, “believe your inner feelings when you get uncomfortable about a person or situation. Respond as soon as you feel uncomfortable!”[1] Gavin De Becker, …
The Brains blog is excited for the next Neural Mechanisms webinar this Friday. It is free. Find information about how and when to join the webinar here: https://www.neuralmechanisms.org/blog/25-january-michael-siblerstein-webinar-constraints-on-localization-and-decomposition-20 (and below). Constraints on Localization and Decomposition as Explanatory Strategies in the Biological Sciences 2.0 Michael Silberstein (Elizabethtown College) 25 January 2019h 15-17 …
Today—in my (alas!) last posting—I suggest some ways the account of the evolution of representational decision making laid out in my book (and sketched in outline last time on the blog) can be applied to a number of open questions in philosophy, psychology, and economics. I will focus on three …
Why did some organisms switch from relying just on reflexive—i.e. purely perceptually-driven—interactions with the world to also employing the tools of representational decision making? What adaptive and other benefits does the reliance on representational decision making yield? Today, I sketch aspects of the answers to these questions; for more details, …
Before it is possible to begin the investigation of the evolution of representational decision making it is necessary to address three foundational issues: (1) The nature of representational decision making—what is it that we are investigating? (2) The reality of representational decision making—why think that representational decision making is a …
