Gurwitsch's Relevancy for Cognitive ScienceLester Embree When I heard the rumor that the findings about the central nervous system obtained with new technology, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET), were too subtle to correlate with the crude results of many decades of behavioristic psychology, and that some psychologists were now turning to descriptions of subjective phenomena in William James, Edmund Husserl, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty—and even in Buddhism—I asked myself, “Why not Aron Gurwitsch as well?” After all, my teacher regularly reflected on the types, basic concepts, and methods of psychology, worked with Adhémar Gelb and Kurt Goldstein in the institute investigating brain-injured veterans at Frankfurt in the 1920s, conspicuously employed Gestalt theory to revise central Husserlian doctrines, and taught Merleau-Ponty a thing or two. That the last book from his Nachlass had recently been published and that I had recently written an essay on his theory of 1 psychology no doubt helped crystallize this project for me. What is “cognitive science”? At one point in assembling this volume I polled the participants, asking whether they preferred “the cognitive sciences” or “cognitive science. ” Most who answered preferred the latter expression. There is still some vagueness here for me, but I do suspect that cognitive science is 2 another example of what I call a “multidiscipline. ” A multidiscipline includes participants who confront a set of issues that is best approached under more than one disciplinary perspective. |
Contents
| 1 | |
Vertical Context after Gurwitsch | 45 |
A Disturbance of the Thematic Field 59 | 58 |
The Experience of the Present Moment | 95 |
Field Theories of Mind and Brain 111 | 110 |
The Marginal Body | 131 |
Experimental Evidence for Three Dimensions of Attention 151 | 150 |
The Structure of Context and Context Awareness | 169 |
The Three Species of Relevancy in Gurwitsch | 205 |
Phenomenology and the Sciences | 221 |
| 235 | |
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abstract According action activity acts actually analysis appears approach Aron aspect attention awareness bodily body brain called Cambridge claim cognitive science concept concerned consider constitutive context correlates defined described discussion distinction effect Embree encountered example existence experience experienced experimental expression fact field of consciousness focus formal functional Gestalt given Gurwitsch hand human Husserl intentional intentionality interpretation intersubjectivity involved irrelevant kind logical look marginal material meaning mental mind nature neural noematic notion object occurs organization particular perceived perception person phenomenology philosophers physical position possible pragmatic present problem processes properties psychology pure question refers reflection relation relationship relevant representation respect schizophrenia sense situation social specific structure Studies suggests temporal thematic field theme theory things thought tion understanding University Press visual whole
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Page 8 - ... encounter — at least not in the first place — mere corporeal objects, pure perceptual things, which can be exhaustively described in terms of what traditionally are called primary and secondary qualities. What we encounter are cultural objects, objects of value, eg, works of art, buildings which serve specific purposes, like abodes, places for work, schools, libraries, churches, and so on. Objects pertaining to the life-world present themselves as tools, instruments, and utensils related...