It is common nowadays to say one’s memory is ‘on’ one’s smartphone. ‘Distributed cognition’ is an umbrella term for the idea that external objects, like smartphones, are more than mere inputs to our minds. They are, in some sense, part of our minds. It is hard to make this idea more precise. But the good news is that excellent work in philosophy has been done on this. Today, we are in a pretty good position. As one might expect, that position is complex: there are many – sometimes clashing – ways fleshing out the basic idea of distributed cognition.
Here is a different thought. Most examples of distributed cognition come from current-day technology (iPhones, computers, and so on). But the fundamental idea – that an object may do mental work – is an old one. How did human cognition get distributed in different historical periods? How did folks in those periods think about their cognition and the boundaries of their minds? What might have caused them to assume their minds were inside their heads or distributed into their surroundings?
Together Douglas Cairns (University of Edinburgh, Classics), Miranda Anderson (University of Edinburgh, English Literature), Mike Wheeler (Stirling, Philosophy) and myself are trying to answer these questions. We are working on a large grant funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, looking into the history of distributed cognition.
What is exciting about this project is the potential for a two-way exchange between the humanities and sciences with philosophy acting as a mediator. Scientists stand to gain access to new and otherwise unexpected examples of distributed cognition and an appreciation of how their ideas about the mind have been historically conditioned. Researchers in the humanities stand to gain a set of theoretical tools that will enable them to see old episodes in new light.
Our major outputs so far include a set of eight online seminars that provide an introduction to distributed cognition for a wide audience. If you are curious about the topic, I recommend starting with these seminars (see the links at the bottom of this page). Our next big output is even more ambitious: a set of four books (A History of Distributed Cognition), aiming to answer the questions outlined above, involving a large number of leading scholars across the humanities.
If you’d like a gentle and fun introduction to these ideas, we are very excited to be running a public event at the National Museum of Scotland on 8 October 2016. This event is called Thinking with Things. The National Museum of Scotland has a fantastic collection of objects that humans used to think with before the iPhone, including astrolabes, the Jacquard loom, and robot arms. During the event, curators from the Museum and some of our best researchers on the project will introduce you to the ideas of the project and explore them through the Museum’s collection. This will give you a new way to appreciate the Museum’s wonderful collection, and it might just change the way you see the wider world. The event is free and open to all. No previous knowledge is assumed. You just need to sign up for tickets at the link below. Hope to see you there!
Thinking with Things: event registration
More information:
Introduction to History of Distributed Cognition: seminars
History of Distributed Cognition project site