Mind and Consciousness between Biology, Technology and Culture

Abstract

The aim of this work is to propose an alternative to the computational and internalist model of the mind proposed by classical cognitive science. I start from underlining the deep philosophical background implicit in cognitivism, which sees thought as nothing but a computational device and the mind as ontologically and epistemologically separate from the body and the world. The brain-computer identity of classical cognitive science will be first criticised by resorting to the analysis of the irreducible differences between the biological brain and the digital computer. This will be the starting point of a much deeper reconsideration of the peculiar biological nature of our minds. Then, this biologically centred perspective will be further expanded by focusing on the possibility of extending the boundaries of the mind beyond "skin and skull", as proposed in the theory of the Extended Mind by Andy Clark and David Chalmers. This work will be the occasion to consider the primary role technology, language and culture play in shaping our cognitive and mental life. At the end, the claim for an "extended consciousness", namely for an extended phenomenological experience will be taken into consideration.