The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience - Francisco J. Varela

Written by Francisco J. Varela
Read by Toby Sheets
Format: M4B
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
Release date: 07-03-18

A new edition of a classic work that originated the “embodied cognition” movement and was one of the first to link science and Buddhist practices.

This classic work, first published in 1991, was one of the first to propose the “embodied cognition” approach in cognitive science. It pioneered the connections between phenomenology and science and between Buddhist practices and science - claims that have since become highly influential. Through this cross-fertilization of disparate fields of study, The Embodied Mind introduced a new form of cognitive science called “enaction”, in which both the environment and first-person experience are aspects of embodiment.

However, enactive embodiment is not the grasping of an independent, outside world by a brain, a mind, or a self; rather, it is the bringing forth of an interdependent world in and through embodied action.

Although enacted cognition lacks an absolute foundation, the audiobook shows how that does not lead to either experiential or philosophical nihilism. Above all, the audiobook’s arguments were powered by the conviction that the sciences of mind must encompass lived human experience and the possibilities for transformation inherent in human experience.