The Nature of Dynamical Explanation.

The received view of dynamical explanation is that dynamical cognitive science seeks to provide covering-law explanations of cognitive phenomena. By analyzing three prominent examples of dynamicist research, I show that the received view is misleading: some dynamical explanations are mechanistic exp...

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Published in:Philosophy of Science Vol. 78; no. 2; pp. 238 - 264
Main Author: Zednik, Carlos
Format: Article
Published: Cambridge University Press Apr2011
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        affil: Indiana University Cognitive Science Program, Eigenmann Building 819, 1910 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47406
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        Cognitive science
        Philosophy of mind
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          Philosophy of mind
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      ab: The received view of dynamical explanation is that dynamical cognitive science seeks to provide covering-law explanations of cognitive phenomena. By analyzing three prominent examples of dynamicist research, I show that the received view is misleading: some dynamical explanations are mechanistic explanations and in this way resemble computational and connectionist explanations. Interestingly, these dynamical explanations invoke the mathematical framework of dynamical systems theory to describe mechanisms far more complex and distributed than the ones typically considered by philosophers. Therefore, contemporary dynamicist research reveals the need for a more sophisticated account of mechanistic explanation.
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