Abstract

Embodied cognition forms part of an increasingly popular trend in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science which emphasizes the role played by extraneural and extracorporeal factors in human cognitive processing (Clark, 2008; Shapiro, 2011). It sits alongside a number of other areas of research, which we can collectively refer to as embodied, embedded, enactive and extended (4E) approaches to cognition. Although subtle differences exist between these approaches, what they have in common is a commitment to the idea that issues of material embodiment and environmental embedding play explanatorily significant roles in our understanding of human cognitive success.