Extended Minds: The Externalization and Expansion of Human Minds Beyond the Body

Penn Journal of Philosophy, Politics and Economics 16 (1) (2021)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Despite the commonly accepted notion that the mind is inseparable from the body, the extended mind hypothesis claims human minds can become linked with the world around us. Through various avenues such as spoken and written language, humans may use non-biological means to allow the mind to store, access, and communicate information in extended capacities not otherwise possible. Though the extended minds hypothesis may be viewed as a result of advancing technology, it makes up only a small part of the way in which externalization may occur. Everyday life is full of examples of extended minds, from computers and phones to billboards and books. There is much debate among philosophers over the acceptance of the hypothesis, but in this paper, I will explore some of the most relevant arguments and aim to show why I hold the extended minds hypothesis to be true.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 91,386

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Group minds as extended minds.Keith Raymond Harris - 2020 - Philosophical Explorations 23 (3):1-17.
The Web‐Extended Mind.Paul R. Smart - 2012 - Metaphilosophy 43 (4):446-463.
Induction and Other Minds, II.Alvin Plantinga - 1968 - Review of Metaphysics 21 (3):524-533.
Induction and other minds II.Alvin Plantinga - 1968 - Review of Metaphysics 21 (3):524-533.
The Extended Self.Eric T. Olson - 2011 - Minds and Machines 21 (4):481-495.
The extended knower.Stephen Hetherington - 2012 - Philosophical Explorations 15 (2):207 - 218.
From the Extended Mind to the Digitally Extended Self: A Phenomenological Critique.Federica Buongiorno - 2019 - Aisthesis. Pratiche, Linguaggi E Saperi Dell’Estetico 12 (1):61-68.
Outsourcing Concepts: Deference, the Extended Mind, and Expanding our Epistemic Capacity.Cathal O'Madagain - 2018 - In J. Adam Carter, Andy Clark, Jesper Kallestrup, Orestis Palermos & Duncan Pritchard (eds.), Socially Extended Knowledge. Oxford University Press.

Analytics

Added to PP
2021-04-06

Downloads
13 (#1,010,467)

6 months
6 (#504,917)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

The extended mind.Andy Clark & David J. Chalmers - 1998 - Analysis 58 (1):7-19.
On a confusion about a function of consciousness.Ned Block - 1995 - Brain and Behavioral Sciences 18 (2):227-–247.
Challenges to the hypothesis of extended cognition.Robert D. Rupert - 2004 - Journal of Philosophy 101 (8):389-428.
Monism.Jonathan Schaffer - 2008 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Language, embodiment, and the cognitive niche.Andy Clark - 2006 - Trends in Cognitive Sciences 10 (8):370-374.

View all 13 references / Add more references