Extended Mind and Embodied Social Psychology: Contemporary Perspectives

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-10-2017

Publication Title

Society

Volume

54

Issue

3

First page number:

279

Last page number:

290

Abstract

This study traces the evolution of a research program that frames the human mind as an embodied social phenomenon. The essay is divided into two parts, the first one focused on historical issues, the second on contemporary developments. The discussion begins with the mind-body problem central to the scholarship in this area and then focuses the changing perspective on consciousness as a symbolically mediated process. Next, the paper surveys the relevant writings of Mead and Vygotsky, tracks the debate about the place of body in interactionist sociology, and connects this debate to current research in neuroscience. The report concludes with reflections on the prospects for embodied sociology and the contribution it can make to the debate about extended mind.

Keywords

Extended mind; Embodied self; Pragmatism; Neuroscience; Neurosociology; Symbolic interaction; Mead; Vygotsky

Disciplines

Sociology

Language

English

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