What is it about?
Enactivism's central feature is that perception and action are inseparable in all creatures; so intuition, which has been called "fast thinking" is central. Our social linguistic thinking (language based) is slower and later to evolve. Radical enactivism offer a new way of thinking that emphasises the body is actively involved in cognition. Using a variety of writers from philosophy, psychoanalysis, and psychology we show how this new paradigm, that is revolutionising cognitive science, fits with our understanding of human nature. The integrated body-mind view which results has applications in ethics, ecology, mental health, education, and social psychology.
Featured Image
Photo by Dakota Corbin on Unsplash
Why is it important?
At a time of ecological crisis this adds to what Gregory Bateson called "steps to an ecology of mind" because we get clearer about how we are integrated with our ecology. It offers a guide how to get out of our heads and into the "flow".
Perspectives
This paper also could be subtitled "Further steps in the ecology of mind". I think many readers give up on enactivism because it appears too complex; but we hope we have provided a very readable introduction that will appeal to a broader audience.
Nick Drury
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Radical enactivism: A guide for the perplexed., Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, March 2023, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/teo0000225.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
