Boundaries of the Mind The Individual in the Fragile Sciences Cognition Where does the mind begin and end? Most philosophers and cognitive scientists take the view that the mind is bounded by the skull or skin of the individual Rob Wilson, in this provocative and challenging new book, provides the foundation for the view that the mind extends beyond the boundary of the individual The approach adopted offers a unique blend of traditional philosophical analysis, cognitive science, and the history of psychology and the human sciences There are highly accessible discussions of the origin of psychology, nativism about the mind, contemporary views of computation, mental representation, consciousness, the metaphysics of mind, the idea of group minds, and how to think about the individual in the cognitive, biological, and social sciences, what Wilson refers to as the fragile sciences A companion volume Genes and the Agents of Life explores this general theme in the biological sciences Written with verve and clarity, this ambitious book will appeal to a broad swath of professionals and students in philosophy, psychology, cognitive science, and the history of the behavioral and human sciences Robert A Wilson was born in Broken Hill, Australia, and lives in Edmonton, Canada He is the author or editor of five other books, including the award-winning The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences (1999) Boundaries of the Mind The Individual in the Fragile Sciences Cognition ROBERT A WILSON University of Alberta cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb2 2ru, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521836456 © Robert A Wilson 2004 This publication is in copyright Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press First published in print format 2004 isbn-13 isbn-10 978-0-511-21724-1 eBook (NetLibrary) 0-511-21724-2 eBook (NetLibrary) isbn-13 isbn-10 978-0-521-83645-6 hardback 0-521-83645-x hardback isbn-13 isbn-10 978-0-521-54494-8 paperback 0-521-54494-7 paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate For Selina Contents in Brief part one: disciplining the individual and the mind The Individual in the Fragile Sciences Individuals, Psychology, and the Mind Nativism on My Mind page 27 50 part two: individualism and externalism in the philosophy of mind and the cognitive sciences Individualism: Philosophical Foundations 77 Metaphysics, Mind, and Science: Two Views of Realization Context-Sensitive Realizations 100 120 Representation, Computation, and Cognitive Science 144 part three: thinking through and beyond the body The Embedded Mind and Cognition Expanding Consciousness 10 Intentionality and Phenomenology 183 214 242 part four: the cognitive metaphor in the biological and social sciences 11 Group Minds in Historical Perspective 265 12 The Group Mind Hypothesis in Contemporary Biology and Social Science 286 Notes References Index 309 335 355 vii Contents page xiii xv List of Tables and Figures Acknowledgments part one disciplining the individual and the mind The Individual in the Fragile Sciences Individuals and the Mind Individuals and Science The Fragile Sciences Individualism in the Cognitive, Biological, and Social Sciences Inside the Thinking Individual The Beast Within Culture, Nature, and the Individual The Metaphysical Picture: Smallism A Path Through Boundaries of the Mind 3 14 17 19 22 24 Individuals, Psychology, and the Mind Psychology amongst the Fragile Sciences The Disciplining of Psychology From Physiology to Philosophy: Wundt and James Disciplining the Social Aspects of the Mind Wundt’s Individuals Galton’s Individuals Nativism and the Continuity Thesis Overlaying the Mind 27 27 30 31 36 40 41 45 48 ix