Extended Cognition
Updated 2026-08-15
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Extended cognition is a position in philosophy of mind, associated with Andy Clark and David Chalmers, holding that cognitive processes can span brain, body and environment. The core proposition is that an external resource counts as part of a cognitive system when it plays a functional role equivalent to an internal process and is coupled to the agent in real time, so a notebook used for memory is not merely an aid but a component. The key qualification is that coupling must be genuine and reliable, since a resource consulted occasionally does not qualify as constitutive.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Test Functional Role: ask whether the external resource does the same job an internal process would. - Check The Coupling: verify the resource is used continuously and reliably, not occasionally. - Design The Extension: build external representations that carry cognitive load off working memory.
Anchor fast decisions
Working memory is severely limited, so reliable external stores let a system hold and manipulate far more information than the brain alone. When the external store is consulted automatically and its contents are trusted without re-derivation, the information flows as if it were internal, and the boundary between inside and outside stops doing explanatory work. The system's behaviour is then predicted better by treating both parts as one unit.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_mind_thesisverified
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