Joao Kogler

This book consists of an edited collection of original essays of the highest academic quality by seasoned experts in their fields of cognitive science. The essays are interdisciplinary, drawing from many of the fields known collectively as “the cognitive sciences.” Topics discussed represent a significant cross-section of the most current and interesting issues in cognitive science. Specific topics include matters regarding machine learning and cognitive architecture, the nature of cognitive content, the relationship of information to cognition, the role of language and communication in cognition, the nature of embodied cognition, selective topics in visual cognition, brain connectivity, computation and simulation, social and technological issues within the cognitive sciences, and significant issues in the history of neuroscience. This book will be of interest to both professional researchers and newer students and graduate students in the fields of cognitive science—including computer science, linguistics, philosophy, psychology and neuroscience. The essays are in English and are designed to be as free as possible of technical jargon and therefore accessible to young scholars and to scholars who are new to the cognitive neurosciences. In addition to several entries by single authors, the book contains several interesting roundtables where researchers contribute answers to a central question presented to those in the focus group on one of the core areas listed above. This exciting approach provides a variety of perspectives from across disciplines on topics of current concern in the cognitive sciences.

This issue of COGNITIVE SYSTEMS RESEARCH features seven articles originated from selected works submitted to EBICC 2015 – Tenth International Brazilian Meeting on Cognitive Science, and orally presented at the event, which took place in the city of São Paulo, Brazil on December 2015. These papers provide a glimpse of the wide spectrum of aspects of cognitive science, always present in the several editions of the meeting since its inception in 1995. Organized by the Brazilian Society of Cognitive Science, this interdisciplinary event brought together researchers in the fields of Cognitive Science and Philosophy of Mind. The extended and updated versions of the selected works are highlighted as follows.

The computational theory of cognition, or computationalism, holds that cognition is a form of computation. Two issues related to this view are comprised by the goal of this paper: A) Computing systems are traditionally seen as representational systems, but functional and enactive approaches support non-representational theories; B) Recently, a sociocultural theory against computationalism was proposed with the aim of ontologically reducing computing to cognition. We defend, however, that cognition and computation are in action, thus cognition is just a form of computing and that cognition is the explanatory basis for computation. We state that: 1. Representational theories of computing recurring to intentional content run into metaphysical problems. 2. Functional non-representational theories do not incur this metaphysical problem when describing computing in terms of the abstract machine. 3. Functional theories are consistent with enactive in describing computing machines not in a strictly functional way, but especially in terms of their organization. 4. Enactive cognition is consistent with the computationalism in describing Turing machines as functionally and organizationally closed systems. 5. The cognitive explanatory basis for computing improves the computational theory of cognition. When developed in the human linguistic domain, computer science is seen as a product of human socionatural normative practices, however, cognition is just an explanatory, not ontological, basis for computing. The paper concludes by supporting that computation is in action, that cognition is just one form of computing in the world and the explanatory basis for computation.

In this essay we examine the relationships between Big Data and cognition, in particular human cognition. The reason for exploring such relationships lies in two aspects. First, because in the domain of cognitive science, many speculate about the benefits that the uses of Big Data analysis techniques can provide to the characterization and understanding of cognition. Secondly, because the scientific and technological sectors that promote data analysis activities, particularly statistics, computer science and data science, naturally accustomed to working with Big Data, have in recent years used the idea of ​​cognition. and its related concepts as terms that seem capable of remedying the deficiencies of the era of symbolic artificial intelligence, as a response to the automation of typically human activities in the process of analyzing data and using its results. of data science, seeking to understand what Big Data really is and to investigate whether the use of cognition models could be applied to the sector. On the other hand, we will analyze the potential of using Big Data to help cognitive science. We also tried to provide a certain didactic character in some points, aiming to help the understanding, by non-specialists, regarding some principles and aspects of the methodology of data science and statistics that will eventually be mentioned in the development of our analysis. (Translated from original)