Concept

4E cognition

Overview

4E cognition refers to a group of theories in (the philosophy of) cognitive science that challenge traditional views of the mind as something that happens only inside the brain.

The four Es stand for:

embodied, meaning that a brain is found in and, more importantly, vitally interconnected with a larger physical/biological body;

embedded, which refers to the limitations placed on the body by the external environment and laws of nature;

extended, which argues that the mind is supplemented and even enhanced by the exterior world (e.g., writing, a calculator, etc.); and

enactive, which is the argument that without dynamic processes, actions that require reactions, the mind would be ineffectual.

It could be argued that the four Es are compounding extensions of cognition or the mind, being part of a body that is, in turn, part of an environment which limits it but also allows for certain extensions, all of which require dynamic actions and reactions.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

Possible passages

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There are four senses in which one thing can be said to be 'prior' to another. Primarily and most properly the term has reference to time: in this sense the word is used to indicate that one thing is older or more ancient than another, for the expressions 'older' and 'more ancient' imply greater…
Aristotle, The Categories
States what 4E cognition is; the author is tied to 4E cognition in the knowledge graph.
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This is the Analytical Method. * * * * * People generally speak of the analytical and synthetical methods, as if it depended solely on our choice which we pursued. This is far from the case. It depends on the form of the objects of our investigation, which of the two methods, that are derivable from the notion of finite cognition, ought to be applied. In the first place, cognition is analytical. Analytical cognition…
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, The Logic of Hegel
States what 4E cognition is.
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In other cases, the ground or basis for a belief is deliberately sought and its adequacy to support the belief examined. This process is called reflective thought; it alone is truly educative in value, and it forms, accordingly, the principal subject of this volume. We shall now briefly describe each of the four senses.
John Dewey, How We Think
States what 4E cognition is.
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Related ideas

Opposing perspectives

Extended mind thesis

Place in the tradition

Part of Embodied cognition.

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