The next meeting of the seminar is planned for February, 12th, at 12:00 (CET). Our guest will be Mark-Oliver Casper. We will discuss his draft “A Spectrum of Integration. Steps towards a Methodology of Situated Cognition Research”.
Abstract: In the first half of this article, it is claimed that the interdisciplinary project of “situated cognition research” is lacking a systematic methodology and that its development will have beneficial effects for that research project without restricting its progressive potential. In the second half, it is argued that the development of such methodology is dependent on positions we hold in the context of philosophy of science. Especially positions of “explanatory pluralism” and “unification” need to be considered. If pluralist claims are supported, then more (e.g.) explanation types should be taken into account by methodological studies. If unificationist claims are endorsed, then less explanation types are deemed significant and worth to be elaborated as well as developed further. A categorical system is provided, the “spectrum of integration”, that arranges and relates a number of pluralist and unificationist positions. Depending on where philosophers place themselves on that spectrum, their methodological analysis varies due to their pluralist or unificationist commitments. The spectrum thereby helps to determine first steps towards a methodology of situated cognition research as it pre-structures possible positions from where such a methodology can start.
The seminar is focused on discussing the papers, in a reading group style. The speaker first introduces the main theses of the paper (for around ten minutes), and then the floor is open for comments. In the online version of the seminar, the questions must be first signaled briefly on the chat to manage the flow of the discussion.
To receive a Google Meet link, please email Przemysław Nowakowski, p.nowakowski@ifispan.edu.pl
Source: Cognitive Science in Search of Unity