The Representational and the Presentational

Download or read book The Representational and the Presentational written by Benny Shanon and published by Andrews UK Limited. This book was released on 2013-12-03 with total page 667 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this wide-ranging book the author presents his critique of the contemporary portrayal of cognition, an analysis of the conceptual foundations of cognitive science and a proposal for a new concept of the mind. Shanon argues that the representational account is seriously lacking and that far from serving as a basis of cognitive activity, representations are the products of such activity. He proposes an alternative view of the mind in which the basic capability of the cognitive system is not the manipulation of symbols but rather action in the world. His book offers a different outlook on the phenomenon of consciousness and presents a new conception of psychological theory and explanation. This revised second edition includes a new Postscript.