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An ecological approach to cognitive (im)penetrability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 1999

Rob Withagen
Affiliation:
Faculty of Human Movements Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlandsr.withagen@fbw.vu.nlcfmichaels@fbw.vu.nl
Claire F. Michaels
Affiliation:
Faculty of Human Movements Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlandsr.withagen@fbw.vu.nlcfmichaels@fbw.vu.nl
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Abstract

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We offer an ecological (Gibsonian) alternative to cognitive (im)penetrability. Whereas Pylyshyn explains cognitive (im)penetrability by focusing solely on computations carried out by the nervous system, according to the ecological approach the perceiver as a knowing agent influences the entire animal-environmental system: in the determination of what constitutes the environment (affordances), what constitutes information, what information is detected and, thus, what is perceived.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press