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person1990s-present

Timothy van Gelder

Disciplines:
philosophy of mind
cognitive science

Summary

Australian philosopher who argued that cognitive systems are best understood as dynamical systems rather than computational or connectionist systems.

Core Contribution

What Might Cognition Be, If Not Computation? (1995): the Watt governor — a simple dynamical system that regulates engine speed — is a better model of cognitive processes than a computational device. Dynamical systems hypothesis: cognition is real-time state change in continuous systems, not discrete symbol manipulation.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • The Watt governor argument: this simple mechanical device achieves speed regulation without representing engine speed anywhere in its structure — it is a dynamical coupling, not a computation — suggesting that much of cognition might work the same way.

Notable Works & Achievements

What Might Cognition Be, If Not Computation?

Mind as Motion

Historical Influences

Francisco Varela Rodney Brooks

Intellectual Lineage

Cognitive Science

Contemporaries & Peers

Andy Clark Francisco Varela

Minds Influenced

Embodied Cognition Research

Intellectual Posterity

Dynamical Systems Approach to Cognition

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Timothy van Gelder

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