Philosophy and Cognitive Science: Two Forms of Interaction

Philosophy can fruitfully interact with cognitive science at least in two different ways. On the one hand cognitive science includes as a constitutive element a philosophical reflection in the attempt to construct “the foundational theoretical framework and tools needed to get a science of the physical basis of the mind off the ground – a task which naturally has one foot in cognitive science and the other in philosophy” (Grush 2002, p. 272). On the other hand the results of cognitive science can be used to put constraints on the conceptual analysis developed by philosophers. In what follows I will sketch some examples of both forms of interaction in order to show the productivity of the interplay between philosophy and cognitive science