The Intertwined Mind

Anthony Chemero (University of Cincinnati)

There have long been good conceptual (critical, philosophical and phenomenological) reasons to think that the human mind is essentially embodied and social. Only recently, however, has it become possible to gather scientific evidence in favor of these hypotheses. I will present some of the conceptual arguments and describe some of the scientific methods. These convergent lines of argument, I will argue, make for a convincing case that persons are essentially embodied and social. I will finish by considering some of the big picture consequences of the essential embodiment and sociality of the mind, pointing in particular to arguments by feminist philosophers.