Varela, Thompson, and Rosch, The embodied mind

Varela, Francisco J.; Thompson, Evan; Rosch, Eleanor
The embodied mind: Cognitive science and human experience
MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA. 1991.
Abstract
Varela, Thompson, and Rosch argue that it is only by having a sense of common ground between mind in science and mind in experience that our understanding of cognition can be more complete. To create this common ground, they develop a dialogue between cognitive science and Buddhist meditative psychology and situate this dialogue in relation to other traditions, such as phenomenology and psychoanalysis. The existential concern that animates our entire discussion in this book results from the tangible demonstration within cognitive science that the self or cognizing subject is fundamentally fragmented, divided, or nonunified.... Our view is that the current style of investigation is limited and unsatisfactory, both theoretically and empirically, because there remains no direct, hands-on, pragmatic approach to experience with which to complement science.... Our concern is to open a space of possibilities in which the circulation between cognitive science and human experience can be fully appreciated and to foster the transformative possibilities of human experience in a scientific culture.... In writing the book, we have aimed for a level of discussion that will be accessible to several audiences. Thus we have attempted to address not only working cognitive scientists but also educated laypersons with a general interest in the dialogue between science and experience, as well as those interested in Buddhist or comparative thought.

Contents (Abbreviated). Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
I. The departing ground.
     A fundamental circularity: In the mind of the reflective scientist.
     What is cognitive science?
     What do we mean "human experience?".
     Science and the phenomenological tradition.
     The breakdown of phenomenology.
     A non-Western philosophical tradition.
     Experimentation and experiential analysis.
II. Varieties of cognitivism.
     Symbols: The cognitivist hypothesis.
     The I of the storm.
III. Varieties of emergence.
     Emergent properties and connectionism.
     Selfless minds.
IV. Steps to a middle way.
     The Cartesian anxiety.
     Enaction: Embodied cognition.
     Evolutionary path making and natural drift.
     Evolution: Ecology and development in congruence.
V. Worlds without ground.
     The middle way.
     Laying down a path in walking.
     Ethics and human transformation.
Appendix A: Meditation terminology.
Appendix B: Categories of experiential events used in mindfulness/awareness.
Appendix C: Works on Buddhism and mindfulness/awareness.
Notes.
References.
Index.

Maintained by Francis F. Steen, Communication Studies, University of California Los Angeles