Embodied Cognition

Abstract

Abstract This chapter examines the view that embodied cognition undermines rationalist approaches to the origins of concepts, focusing on three different strands in embodied cognition research: the view that concept acquisition varies with a learner’s body type, that human action can often be explained without postulating rich internal representations and representational processes, and that concepts are realized in sensorimotor and affective systems and shouldn’t be understood as amodal representations. We argue that it is important not to overestimate the role that the body plays in shaping cognition. Just as importantly, we show that the core idea behind embodied cognition is not only compatible with concept nativism but greatly improved when developed in the context of an overall rationalist framework. These points are illustrated with examples involving the representation of physical objects, emotions, physical formidability, tools, and actions involving the human hand.