Embodied Computation and The Autonomy of Psychology
(DRAFT) (with Paco Calvo)
Abstract How do we characterize the computational challenges facing a control system as it controls the
behavior of an agent? Part of the answer to this question depends on how we understand the capacities of
the agent’s body. These capacities, along with the relevant features of the social and physical environment
in which it is embedded, serve as the parameters which determine the problems faced by the agent’s
central control system. In this article, we consider the role of embodiment in computation. We argue that
taking embodiment seriously, reorients our thinking with respect to the classical hierarchy of
computational, algorithmic and implementational levels of analysis.
Abstract
How do we characterize the computational challenges facing a control system as it controls the behavior of an agent? Part of the answer to this question depends on how we understand the capacities of the agent’s body. These capacities, along with the relevant features of the social and physical environment in which it is embedded, serve as the parameters which determine the problems faced by the agent’s central control system. In this article, we consider the role of embodiment in computation. We argue that taking embodiment seriously, reorients our thinking with respect to the classical hierarchy of computational, algorithmic and implementational levels of analysis.
Read PDF
Leave a Trackback