Extending Gurwitsch’s field theory of consciousness.Jeff Yoshimi &David W. Vinson -2015 -Consciousness and Cognition 34 (C):104-123.detailsAron Gurwitsch’s theory of the structure and dynamics of consciousness has much to offer contemporary theorizing about consciousness and its basis in the embodied brain. On Gurwitsch’s account, as we develop it, the field of consciousness has a variable sized focus or "theme" of attention surrounded by a structured periphery of inattentional contents. As the field evolves, its contents change their status, sometimes smoothly, sometimes abruptly. Inner thoughts, a sense of one’s body, and the physical environment are dominant field contents. (...) These ideas can be linked with (and help unify) contemporary theories about the neural correlates of consciousness, inattention, the small world structure of the brain, meta-stable dynamics, embodied cognition, and predictive coding in the brain. (shrink)
Interacting Timescales in Perspective-Taking.Rick Dale,Alexia Galati,Camila Alviar,Pablo Contreras Kallens,Adolfo G. Ramirez-Aristizabal,Maryam Tabatabaeian &David W. Vinson -2018 -Frontiers in Psychology 9:320582.detailsThrough theoretical discussion, literature review, and a computational model, this paper poses a challenge to the notion that perspective-taking involves a fixed architecture in which particular processes have priority. For example, some research suggests that egocentric perspectives can arise more quickly, with other perspectives (such as of task partners) emerging only secondarily. This theoretical dichotomy–between fast egocentric and slow other-centric processes–is challenged here. We propose a general view of perspective-taking as an emergent phenomenon governed by the interplay among cognitive mechanisms (...) that accumulate information at different timescales. We first describe the pervasive relevance of perspective-taking to cognitive science. A dynamical systems model is then introduced that explicitly formulates the timescale interaction proposed. This model illustrates that, rather than having a rigid time course, perspective-taking can be fast or slow depending on factors such as task context. Implications are discussed, with ideas for future empirical research. (shrink)
Perception, as you make it.David W. Vinson,Drew H. Abney,Dima Amso,Anthony Chemero,James E. Cutting,Rick Dale,Jonathan B. Freeman,Laurie B. Feldman,Karl J. Friston,Shaun Gallagher,J. Scott Jordan,Liad Mudrik,Sasha Ondobaka,Daniel C. Richardson,Ladan Shams,Maggie Shiffrar &Michael J. Spivey -2016 -Behavioral and Brain Sciences 39:e260.detailsThe main question that Firestone & Scholl (F&S) pose is whether “what and how we see is functionally independent from what and how we think, know, desire, act, and so forth” (sect. 2, para. 1). We synthesize a collection of concerns from an interdisciplinary set of coauthors regarding F&S's assumptions and appeals to intuition, resulting in their treatment of visual perception as context-free.
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Academic Placement Data and Analysis: 2015 Final Report.Carolyn Dicey Jennings,Angelo Kyrilov,Patrice Cobb,Evette Montes,Cruz Franco,Justin Vlasits &David W. Vinson -2015 -APA Grant Funds: Previously Funded Projects.detailsThe first research report of the APDA project. Findings include that "gender is a significant predictor of type of placement (i.e. permanent versus temporary). The intercept tells us that the odds for male participants to have a permanent academic placement within the first two years after graduation are statistically significant at .37, p < 0.001 when year of graduation is held constant. The odds for female participants to have a permanent academic placement are 1.85, p < 0.001 when graduation year (...) is held constant. In terms of differences, the odds of having a permanent (versus temporary) academic placement are 85% greater for females as compared to males.". (shrink)
Academic Placement Data and Analysis: 2016 Final Report.Carolyn Dicey Jennings,Patrice Cobb,Bryan Kerster,Chelsea Gordon,Angelo Kyrilov,Evette Montes,Sam Spevack,David W. Vinson &Justin Vlasits -2016 -APA Grant Funds: Previously Funded Projects.detailsAcademic Placement Data and Analysis (APDA), a project funded by the American Philosophical Association (APA) and headed by Carolyn Dicey Jennings (UC Merced), aims “to make information on academic job placement useful to prospective graduate students in philosophy.” The project has just been updated to include new data, which Professor Jennings describes in a post at New APPS. She also announces a new interactive data tool with which one can sift through and sort information. (from Daily Nous).