This volume introduces central issues in cognitive science by means of debates on key questions. The debates are written by renowned experts in the field. The debates cover the middle ground as well as the extremes Addresses topics such as the amount of innate knowledge, bounded rationality and the role of perception in action. Provides valuable overview of the field in a clear and easily comprehensible form.

Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Mind showcases the leading contributors to the field, debating the major questions in philosophy of mind today. Comprises 20 newly commissioned essays on hotly debated issues in the philosophy of mind Written by a cast of leading experts in their fields, essays take opposing views on 10 central contemporary debates A thorough introduction provides a comprehensive background to the issues explored Organized into three sections which explore the ontology of the mental, nature of the mental content, and the nature of consciousness

In this volume, leading researchers debate five core questions in the philosophy of cognitive science. For each topic, the volume provides two essays, each advocating for an opposing approach.

A timely collection of debates concerning the major themes and topics in philosophy of mind, fully updated with new topics covering the latest developments in the field Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Mind provides a lively and engaging introduction to the conceptual background, ongoing debates, and contentious issues in the field today. Original essays by more than 30 of the discipline’s most influential thinkers offer opposing perspectives on a series of contested questions regarding mental content, physicalism, the place of consciousness in the physical world, and the nature of perception and mental capacities. Written to appeal to non-specialists and professional philosophers alike, the second edition of Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Mind features five entirely new debates on the relation between perception and cognition, whether pain is a natural kind, whether perception is best understood through representational content or direct contact with the world, whether we need imagination that goes beyond imagery and supposition, and whether perceptual contents are general, particular, or a hybrid. Presents 15 sets of specially commissioned essays with opposing viewpoints on central topics in philosophy of mind Offers head-to-head debates on central topics such as consciousness, intentionality, normativity, mental causation, materialism, and perception Provides a dynamic view of contemporary thinking about fundamental and controversial issues Includes a thorough introduction providing a comprehensive background to the issues explored in each debate Part of Wiley-Blackwell’s acclaimed Contemporary Debates in Philosophy series, Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Mind, Second Edition is essential reading for undergraduate and graduate students, academics, professional philosophers, and sophisticated general readers with an interest in the subject.

In a series of thought-provoking and original essays, eighteenleading philosophers engage in head-to-head debates of nine of themost cutting edge topics in contemporary metaphysics. Explores the fundamental questions in contemporary metaphysicsin a series of eighteen original essays - 16 of which are newlycommissioned for this volume Features an introductory essay by the editors on the nature ofmetaphysics to prepare the reader for ongoing discussions Offers readers the unique opportunity to observe leadingphilosophers engage in head-to-head debate on cutting-edgemetaphysical topics Provides valuable insights into the flourishing field ofcontemporary metaphysics

Our thoughts are meaningful. We think about things in the outside world; how can that be so? This is one of the deepest questions in contemporary philosophy. Ever since the 'cognitive revolution', states with meaning-mental representations-have been the key explanatory construct of the cognitive sciences. But there is still no widely accepted theory of how mental representations get their meaning. Powerful new methods in cognitive neuroscience can now reveal information processing in the brain in unprecedented detail. They show how the brain performs complex calculations on neural representations. Drawing on this cutting-edge research, Nicholas Shea uses a series of case studies from the cognitive sciences to develop a naturalistic account of the nature of mental representation. His approach is distinctive in focusing firmly on the 'subpersonal' representations that pervade so much of cognitive science. The diversity and depth of the case studies, illustrated by numerous figures, make this book unlike any previous treatment. It is important reading for philosophers of psychology and philosophers of mind, and of considerable interest to researchers throughout the cognitive sciences.

This pragmatist interpretation of habits provides a unifying concept for 4E cognitive science, neuroscience, philosophy, and social theory.

In recent decades cognitive science has revolutionised our understanding of the workings of the human mind. Philosophy has made a major contribution to cognitive science and has itself been hugely influenced by its development. This dynamic book explores the philosophical significance of cognitive science and examines the central debates that have enlivened its history. In a wide-ranging and comprehensive account of the topic, philosopher M.J. Cain discusses the historical origins of cognitive science and its philosophical underpinnings; the nature and role of representations in cognition; the architecture of the mind and the modularity thesis; the nature of concepts; knowledge of language and its acquisition; perception; and the relationship between the brain and cognition. Cain draws upon an extensive knowledge of empirical developments and their philosophical interpretation. He argues that although the field has generated some challenging new views in recent years, many of the core ideas that initiated its birth are still to be taken seriously. Clearly written and incisively argued, The Philosophy of Cognitive Science will appeal to any student or researcher interested in the workings of the mind.

Attention refers to our ability to selectively process the vast array of stimuli impinging upon our senses at every moment. The mental processes of attention are critical for allowing us to maintain focus and complete tasks efficiently, even within distracting environments. The brain mechanisms of attention have been studied for decades, yet much still remains unknown, and consensus on core issues remains elusive. A unique aspect of this book are chapters that highlight recent debates on critical issues in attention research. Each of these chapters includes a comprehensive discussion paper that is followed by peer commentaries and an authors' responses. These debates include whether attention can modulate activity of even the earliest cortical processing region and whether changes in white matter are critical for plasticity-related effects of attention training. In addition to these discussion chapters, the book presents cutting-edge research on some of the newest theories of attentional control and selective attention, including the influence of practice, epigenetics, reward, social interaction, and distractor suppression. These studies employ advanced cognitive neuroscience methods such as neurostimulation, functional neuroimaging pattern analysis, and the evaluation of oscillatory brain activity to shed light on the brain mechanisms underlying attention. The chapters in this book were originally published as articles in various issues of the journal Cognitive Neuroscience.

This book argues that thinking is bounded by neither the brain nor the skin of an organism. Cognitive systems function through integration of neural and bodily functions with the functions of representational vehicles. The integrationist position offers a fresh contribution to the emerging embodied and embedded approach to the study of mind.