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Beyond the Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal and Human Minds
A new approach to understanding animal and human cognitionWhen a chimpanzee stockpiles rocks as weapons or when a frog sends out mating calls, we might easily assume these animals know their own motivations--that they use the same psychological mechanisms that we do. But as Beyond the Brain indicates, this is a dangerous assumption because animals have different evolutionary trajectories, ecological niches, and physical attributes. How do these differences influence animal thinking and behavior? Removing our human-centered spectacles, Louise Barrett investigates the mind and brain and offers an alternative approach for understanding animal and human cognition. Drawing on examples from animal behavior, comparative psychology, robotics, artificial life, developmental psychology, and cognitive science, Barrett provides remarkable new insights into how animals and humans depend on their bodies and environment--not just their brains--to behave intelligently.Barrett begins with an overview of human cognitive adaptations and how these color our views of other species, brains, and minds. Considering when it is worth having a big brain--or indeed having a brain at all--she investigates exactly what brains are good at. Showing that the brain's evolutionary function guides action in the world, she looks at how physical structure contributes to cognitive processes, and she demonstrates how these processes employ materials and resources in specific environments.Arguing that thinking and behavior constitute a property of the whole organism, not just the brain, Beyond the Brain illustrates how the body, brain, and cognition are tied to the wider world.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 22, 2016
A well-read and trendy look at situated cognition through an empirical psychology lens. I enjoyed the examples from robotics, and animal and developmental cognition, as well as the citations being a who's who of embodiment (Clark, Chalmers, Noe, Gallagher, Thelen & Smith, etc etc). The robotics examples were particularly great. However, I was left feeling that this lacked the oomph of a 'how' story and was more of an assertion of the situated cognition thesis coated with enough of a research candy-shell to convince a psychologist.
My sense is that several disjointed examples are not enough. I want an evolutionary, developmental, and, more than anything, metaphysical story of why minds are about body-world couplings.
My sense is that several disjointed examples are not enough. I want an evolutionary, developmental, and, more than anything, metaphysical story of why minds are about body-world couplings.
December 22, 2013
Beyond The Brain advocates a perspective on the mind starting in the 'mechanical' processes of the body and exploring how any particular organism's cognitive functions could be rooted in the way their body works - or indeed, if cognitive functions are needed at all for the behavior we observe. Barrett makes the case that many actions that we tend to see as signs of analytical intelligence in animals - including, if I'm reading her correctly, ourselves - can be explained more simply in terms of the physical and physiological properties of the organism's body. For instance, she explains how the female cricket - which has been thought to exhibit a complex choice behavior when responding to the calls of male crickets - actually just moves toward the noise that most consistently and loudly stimulates her eardrums. The idea that the mating call lets her know that there's a male cricket around, the plan to seek him out, and even the idea that she's searching for the source of the sound rather than just moving towards it because that somehow stimulates her, are unnecessary complications in explaining her behavior.
This perspective on body-up explanations makes Occam's razor-sharp sense, as the grey area between what we consider alive and what we consider non-organic is filled with automated responses or simple one-need-fullfilment in a complex environment, which at first glimpse seem like irrefutable proof of a mind at work. As such, the book is very interesting and has really shifted my perspective on animal behavioral studies, which often get lost in trench wars between those who presume a mind at work anyplace they find human-like behavior, and those who presume only humans have minds. The book gets tediously theoretical and abstract at times, which seems mainly as an essentially unneccessary attempt to escape being misunderstood. It also often tends to rephrase the same point several times. But as a welcome respite from the trench wars of anthropomorphisms and a revealing glimpse into alternative explanations for emergence, I warmly recommend it.
This perspective on body-up explanations makes Occam's razor-sharp sense, as the grey area between what we consider alive and what we consider non-organic is filled with automated responses or simple one-need-fullfilment in a complex environment, which at first glimpse seem like irrefutable proof of a mind at work. As such, the book is very interesting and has really shifted my perspective on animal behavioral studies, which often get lost in trench wars between those who presume a mind at work anyplace they find human-like behavior, and those who presume only humans have minds. The book gets tediously theoretical and abstract at times, which seems mainly as an essentially unneccessary attempt to escape being misunderstood. It also often tends to rephrase the same point several times. But as a welcome respite from the trench wars of anthropomorphisms and a revealing glimpse into alternative explanations for emergence, I warmly recommend it.
July 11, 2014
I read the turkish translation....turkcesi beynin otesi olarak yayinlandi. oldukca zor bir kitap turkcenin kifayetsizligi mi, cumlelerin uzunlugu mu bilemeyecegim ama bazen okumakta gercekten zorlaniliyor.. bu nedenle ingilizcesinden de takip ederek okumak zorunda kaldim.. temel birkac fikirden en onemlisi uzun zamandir merak ettigim "embodiment" ekolunun ve fikirinin aciklanisi, yorumlanisi ve savunulusu.... "hersey beyindir" veya "beynimiz neyse biz oyuz" yaklasiminin antitezi olarak ortaya cikiyor..soyle diyor "organizmalarin cevrenin yapisini kullanip onun uzerinde etkili olarak bilissel yukun bir bolumunu cevreye yukleme ve pahali beyin dokusundan tasarruf etme olanagi varken yuksek maliyetli yollardan bilgi depo edip onlari isleyecek sekilde evrilmelerini beklemememiz gerekir".... en cok ilgimi bellek konusuna yaklasimi cekti.. ayrica cevrede hareket edebilmek ve bilissel islemler gerceklesmek icin illa beyin dokularina ihtiyac olmadigini gosteren oldukca kapsamli kurbaga, orumcek gibi hayvanlarla ve bircok robotla yapilmis deneyi sunmakta. yazar cevre, vucut baglantisinin temel oldugunda israrci.. yine de bu konuda hala terreddutlerim bulundugunu ifade etmeden gecemeyecegim tabii...
September 11, 2014
Louise Barrett is a very good writer and shares a convincing argument for the embedded cognition/mind - brain, body, and environment - with a sensitivity for evolutionary fitness.
And, amazingly, she makes Gibson almost intelligible.
A joy to read.
And, amazingly, she makes Gibson almost intelligible.
A joy to read.
February 4, 2021
Difícil a tarefa de resumir essa bela obra de L. Barrett. O livro cobre uma gama imensa de assuntos, embora todos os tópicos convirjam para um tema: como a cognição (nossas capacidades, como seres vivos, de compreender o mundo à nossa volta) não deve ser resumida à atividade cerebral, como o se cérebro fosse um "piloto"; o corpo, um mero "veículo"; a ambiente, um "pano de fundo".
Os dois primeiros capítulos tenta explicar as dificuldades de compreendermos a cognição de animais não-humanos devido ao nosso forte ponto de vista "antropocêntrico". Isto é, o modo como projetamos nossas próprias "métricas humanas" ao avaliarmos o modo como outros seres conhecem e interagem com o mundo à sua volta.
Qual a importância de se tocar nesse assunto? Demonstrar como a natureza (a evolução das espécies, especialmente a seleção natural) permite várias soluções para que diferentes animais compreendam o ambiente à sua volta. Soluções essas que não necessariamente envolvem cérebros grandes, capacidades abstrativas, linguagem ou qualquer outro traço que consideramos, como seres humanos, de "ordem cognitiva superior". Os capítulos 3 (Small Brains, Smart Behavior), 4 (The Implausible Nature of Portia) e 5 (When do You Need a Big Brain?) temos uma gama imensa de exemplos das capacidades de animais bem diferentes de nós, macacos pelados.
Exorcizadas as nossas pré-concepções sobre a natureza da cognição, o próximo passo de Barrett é desenvolver uma proposta construtiva, positiva, a respeito de como devemos compreender, estudar, e conjecturar questões relativas à cognição humana e animal. Para tal, no cap. 6 (The Ecology of Psychology) apresenta as principais ideias da Teoria Ecológica na Psicologia, lançada (oficialmente) pelos estudos de James Gibson. Esse capítulo é recomendadíssimo para quem quer se introduzir na tradição ecológica da psicologia, sobretudo a abordagem ecológica da percepção (que Barrett acaba buscando estender para além do foco na percepção, mas outras tarefas cognitivas). Uma passagem que resume o cap:
"As we’ve seen, even fairly simple animals explore and regulate their encounters with the environment in highly active ways, exploiting the structure of their bodies and the habitat in order to make their tasks simpler, more effective, or both. The idea of an active organism is key to understanding many of Gibson’s arguments because it completely undercuts many of the assumptions we hold about sensation, perception, and action".
O cap. 7 explora mais profundamente a tradição hegemônica que dominou o paradigma das ciências cognitivas entre 1950-2000: o cognitivismo computacionalista. Barrett, apesar de crítica dessa tradição (já que ela se encontra no cenário da tradição ecológica), apresenta de forma bem caridosa e honesta o núcleo conceitual do computacionalismo. E, no final, ainda sugere as considerações de Turing sobre a natureza da cognição ("inteligência" talvez seja o mais adequado) podem ser incorporadas na base teórica da abordagem ecológica.
O cap. 8, mais desafiador para mim, como leitor, tenta incorporar a teoria dos sistemas dinâmicos na perspectiva ecológica da cognição da autora. Talvez o mais complexo cap. do livro.
Os últimos capítulos, 9 (World in Action), 10 (Babies and Bodies) e 11 (Wider than the Sky) são uma ratificação da proposta enativista de cognição desenvolvida no decorrer do livro, dando ênfase especial a como estudos recentes que incluíram o papel do "corpo" e do "ambiente" nas tarefas cognitivas desenvolveram hipóteses alternativas às respostas cognitivas-computacionalistas tradicionais (por ex, o desenvolvimento da capacidade conceitual em infantes).
Em suma, uma leitura que impactou muito a minha forma de ver o mundo. Melhor forma de começar o ano. Certamente Beyond the Brain irá figurar em futuras pesquisas minhas.
Termino com uma clássica citação de caráter enativista do texto:
"Once we understand the role and importance of bodily attributes like materials and shape in producing effective, adaptive behavior, we can more easily appreciate that bodies are not simply the means by which a reasoning brain can implement solutions to the problems of life; rather, we can see that bodies are resources that can be exploited in various highly adaptive ways, either to reduce the costs of behavior, to produce more effective behavior, or both".
Os dois primeiros capítulos tenta explicar as dificuldades de compreendermos a cognição de animais não-humanos devido ao nosso forte ponto de vista "antropocêntrico". Isto é, o modo como projetamos nossas próprias "métricas humanas" ao avaliarmos o modo como outros seres conhecem e interagem com o mundo à sua volta.
Qual a importância de se tocar nesse assunto? Demonstrar como a natureza (a evolução das espécies, especialmente a seleção natural) permite várias soluções para que diferentes animais compreendam o ambiente à sua volta. Soluções essas que não necessariamente envolvem cérebros grandes, capacidades abstrativas, linguagem ou qualquer outro traço que consideramos, como seres humanos, de "ordem cognitiva superior". Os capítulos 3 (Small Brains, Smart Behavior), 4 (The Implausible Nature of Portia) e 5 (When do You Need a Big Brain?) temos uma gama imensa de exemplos das capacidades de animais bem diferentes de nós, macacos pelados.
Exorcizadas as nossas pré-concepções sobre a natureza da cognição, o próximo passo de Barrett é desenvolver uma proposta construtiva, positiva, a respeito de como devemos compreender, estudar, e conjecturar questões relativas à cognição humana e animal. Para tal, no cap. 6 (The Ecology of Psychology) apresenta as principais ideias da Teoria Ecológica na Psicologia, lançada (oficialmente) pelos estudos de James Gibson. Esse capítulo é recomendadíssimo para quem quer se introduzir na tradição ecológica da psicologia, sobretudo a abordagem ecológica da percepção (que Barrett acaba buscando estender para além do foco na percepção, mas outras tarefas cognitivas). Uma passagem que resume o cap:
"As we’ve seen, even fairly simple animals explore and regulate their encounters with the environment in highly active ways, exploiting the structure of their bodies and the habitat in order to make their tasks simpler, more effective, or both. The idea of an active organism is key to understanding many of Gibson’s arguments because it completely undercuts many of the assumptions we hold about sensation, perception, and action".
O cap. 7 explora mais profundamente a tradição hegemônica que dominou o paradigma das ciências cognitivas entre 1950-2000: o cognitivismo computacionalista. Barrett, apesar de crítica dessa tradição (já que ela se encontra no cenário da tradição ecológica), apresenta de forma bem caridosa e honesta o núcleo conceitual do computacionalismo. E, no final, ainda sugere as considerações de Turing sobre a natureza da cognição ("inteligência" talvez seja o mais adequado) podem ser incorporadas na base teórica da abordagem ecológica.
O cap. 8, mais desafiador para mim, como leitor, tenta incorporar a teoria dos sistemas dinâmicos na perspectiva ecológica da cognição da autora. Talvez o mais complexo cap. do livro.
Os últimos capítulos, 9 (World in Action), 10 (Babies and Bodies) e 11 (Wider than the Sky) são uma ratificação da proposta enativista de cognição desenvolvida no decorrer do livro, dando ênfase especial a como estudos recentes que incluíram o papel do "corpo" e do "ambiente" nas tarefas cognitivas desenvolveram hipóteses alternativas às respostas cognitivas-computacionalistas tradicionais (por ex, o desenvolvimento da capacidade conceitual em infantes).
Em suma, uma leitura que impactou muito a minha forma de ver o mundo. Melhor forma de começar o ano. Certamente Beyond the Brain irá figurar em futuras pesquisas minhas.
Termino com uma clássica citação de caráter enativista do texto:
"Once we understand the role and importance of bodily attributes like materials and shape in producing effective, adaptive behavior, we can more easily appreciate that bodies are not simply the means by which a reasoning brain can implement solutions to the problems of life; rather, we can see that bodies are resources that can be exploited in various highly adaptive ways, either to reduce the costs of behavior, to produce more effective behavior, or both".
January 25, 2018
The book does what it sets out to do, cautioning the reader to be more wary of the involvement with one’s environment as it relates to cognition, not only when it comes to human interactions but also the cognition of organisms around us, in an anti-anthropomorphic sense. The book use examples of robotics and particular examples of insects and animals relevant to the overall theme. I did find the material to be one dimensional in the sense that, once the argument is made and data given, I would’ve been happy to adjust my thinking well within the parameters of the book which offer multiple rationales over it’s 224 pages.
June 10, 2022
Muy bien escrito y muy chulo en general. Es como mejorar Being there de Andy Clark hablando sobre todo de animales (y no de bebés y robots) desde una perspectiva no representacionalista. Aunque es poco conclusivo creo, se queda en la superficie de muchos temas.
July 1, 2017
Beyinle alakası yok, evrim ve hayvanlar temalı bir kitap. Beni pek sarmadı.
February 25, 2019
A bit too scientific, difficult to read, at least for me ...
December 3, 2019
Phenomenal ideas and concepts worth reading again, but a really difficult read. Probably only grasped less than a quarter of it.
Want to read
May 1, 2022SHARMA, INTERDEPENDENCE
January 23, 2012
I read this book a while ago and as I am now reviewing my notes I am asking myself why this one didn`t get the attention that I think it deserves. My humble opinion is that Beyond the brain is going to be one of the essential readings in "embodied cognition discussion".
As Andrew Wilson put it in his (blog) Barrett realy "knows her Gibson". That means that Barrett is taking the stance that cognition is a process that spans the brain, body and environment of an organism, so you need a good theory of perception to systemize this triad, biosemiotic conception of semiosis. In my opinion this is the best approach.
She upgrades this theoretical view with the concept of umwelt(via ecological psychology). This concept is debateable when it comes to human culture and cognition, but anyway, Barrett`s main focus is observing animals behaviour and what can it tells us about cognition in general and what cognition is anyway, what can we know about it, what we should be catious of and how what we think we know can many times lead us to wrong conclusions.
As Andrew Wilson put it in his (blog) Barrett realy "knows her Gibson". That means that Barrett is taking the stance that cognition is a process that spans the brain, body and environment of an organism, so you need a good theory of perception to systemize this triad, biosemiotic conception of semiosis. In my opinion this is the best approach.
She upgrades this theoretical view with the concept of umwelt(via ecological psychology). This concept is debateable when it comes to human culture and cognition, but anyway, Barrett`s main focus is observing animals behaviour and what can it tells us about cognition in general and what cognition is anyway, what can we know about it, what we should be catious of and how what we think we know can many times lead us to wrong conclusions.
March 19, 2020
#Corona’yı bir kenara bırakın, güzel bir #kitap’a ne dersiniz? #Beyin tek başına mı? #Beyin #beden ve #ortam ilişkilerine güzel ve geniş bir bakış...
Beynin Ötesi - Kitap Okuma Rehberi 6 https://youtu.be/R8oLqxTvFl4
Beynin Ötesi - Kitap Okuma Rehberi 6 https://youtu.be/R8oLqxTvFl4
June 25, 2015
The author makes a strong case that most (if not all) animal behaviors can be explained by non-representational and non-computational cognitive processes that inherently and inextricably involve and include the physical body and its environment. In other words, the "mind" is a process or a state but not the brain itself or anything within it. We humans somehow manage to exist, at least at times, in the Heideggerian mode of "vorhanden", and are prone to anthropomorphize animals which are in the "zuhanden" mode. Studies on animals, babies and robotics are used extensively to support the author's stance. Concepts like the 'umwelt' and 'distributed cognition' are explained very well. Truly thought provoking.
April 14, 2013
Straightforward and readable introduction to some of the most difficult aspects of embodied cognition - with real examples and detailed explanation. Essential if you want to tackle some of the more cutting edge books that focus almost entirely on the theory alone.
August 5, 2016
I have FINALLY found a book on embodiment that is accessible to my students (master's in counseling with or without a background in cognition). This is a wonderful piece and doesn't lack in quality what it makes up in clarity.
May 15, 2015
Barrett highlights the implications that come with anthropomorphising other species, most notably how we identify intelligence with brain size, and presents a persuasive view of cognition as both embedded and extended.
Read
May 11, 2012.
Buen libro. Revisándolo.
.
http://psychsciencenotes.blogspot.com...
.
Buen libro. Revisándolo.
.
http://psychsciencenotes.blogspot.com...
.
May 5, 2014
Absolutely amazing! I had the pleasure of taking multiple neuroscience and psychology classes from Louise! Absolute GEM she is!
Want to read
March 30, 20162PTR (Innovation / Mammal Sociality)
July 23, 2019
This is a great book! I took Professor Barrett's class at university and I kept this book to reread it because it was so good.
Read
October 5, 2012An interesting, informative read, essentially entailing embodied cognition and cultural evolution.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews