Title: Chances, affordances, and cognitive niche construction: the plasticity of environmental situatedness

Authors: Lorenzo Magnani, Emanuele Bardone

Addresses: Department of Philosophy and Computational Philosophy Laboratory, University of Pavia, Piazza Botta, 6, Pavia 27100, Italy. ' Department of Philosophy and Computational Philosophy Laboratory, University of Pavia, Piazza Botta, 6, Pavia 27100, Italy

Abstract: As a matter of fact, humans continuously delegate and distribute cognitive functions to the environment to lessen their limits. They build models, representations, and other various mediating structures, that are considered to aid thought. In doing these, humans are engaged in a process of cognitive niche construction. In this sense, we argue that a cognitive niche emerges from a network of continuous interplays between individuals and the environment, in which people alter and modify the environment by mimetically externalising fleeting thoughts, private ideas, etc., into external supports. Through mimetic activities humans create external semiotic anchors that become cognitive chances.

Keywords: abduction; affordance; distributed cognition; cognitive niche construction; chance discovery; plasticity; environmental situatedness; mimetic activities; semiotic anchors; cognitive chances.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAIP.2010.030537

International Journal of Advanced Intelligence Paradigms, 2010 Vol.2 No.2/3, pp.235 - 253

Published online: 21 Dec 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article