Philosophy

The World in Us: Gestalt Structure, Phenomenology and Embodied Cognition

In the early 20th century, Gestalt Psychology and Phenomenology were two influential and interrelated movements that shaped philosophical and scientific thinking about the mind. They shared several key theoretical commitments: the phenomenal character of experience constitutes evidence; complex cognitive phenomena may be explained through structural analysis; and the mental constitutes a distinct realm for both philosophical and scientific study, not reducible to the merely physical. These same commitments have emerged again in recent “Multi-E” approaches to cognitive science, that emphasize the embodied and environmentally structured nature of cognition.

This conference aims to explore the relationship between these movements, with a particular focus on how the historical dialectic between Gestalt Psychology and Phenomenology may inform contemporary trends in Embodied and Embedded Cognitive Science.

Keynote Speakers:

  • Tony Chemero
  • Uljana Feest
  • Gary Hatfield

Further information

Conference programme

This conference is part of the project Gestalt Structure and Phenomenology, a subproject of the Cambridge New Directions in the Study of Mind Project, supported by the John Templeton Foundation.  Additional support has been provided by the EIDYN Centre and the Scots Philosophical Association.

Contact

Alistair Isaac

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The World in Us: Gestalt Structure, Phenomenology and Embodied Cognition

Conference: The World in Us: Gestalt Structure, Phenomenology and Embodied Cognition

Room G32, Psychology Building, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ