Cognition as a dynamic system: Principles from embodiment

Abstract Traditional approaches to cognitive development concentrate on the stability of cognition and explain that stability via concepts segregated from perceiving acting. A dynamic systems approach in contrast focuses on the self-organization of behavior in tasks. This article uses recent results concerning the embodiment of cognition to argue for a dynamic systems approach. The embodiment hypothesis is the idea that intelligence emerges in the interaction of an organism with an environment and as a result of sensory-motor activity. The continual coupling of cognition to the world through the body both adapts cognition to the idiosyncrasies of the here and now, makes it relevant, and provides the mechanism for developmental change. Ó 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Dynamic systems; Cognition; Concepts; Development The idea of emergence-the temporary but coherent coming into existence of new forms through ongoing intrinsic processes-is fundamental to the idea of dynamic systems. Complex systems composed of very many individual elements embedded within, and open to, a complex environment can exhibit coherent behavior: the parts are coordinated without an executive agent, plan, or program. Coherence is generated solely in the relationships between the components and the constraints and opportunities offered by the environment. This self-organization means that no single element has causal priority. When such complex systems self-organize, they are characterized by the relative stability 0273-2297/$ -see front matter