Andy Clark
Andy Clark was director of the
Cognitive Science Program at
Indiana University in
Bloomington. Before this he taught at
Washington University at St. Louis and
Sussex University in England. He is now a Professor of
Philosophy and
Chair in Logic and Metaphysics at the
University of Edinburgh in
Scotland.
Professor Clark’s papers and books deal with the
philosophy of mind and is considered a leading scientist in
mind extension.
Clark’s mind extension theories revolve around the notion of
cognitive hybridization, a tendency of the human
brain to integrate closely with the
technology in its
environment unlike that of any other
species, eventually becoming dependent upon it. Because of this, Clark draws parallels between modern humans and the
science fiction notion of
cyborgs. To Clark, a person using a calculator is as much a cyborg as is
RoboCop.
Clark studies
artificial intelligence and
neural networks to find parallels with the function of the human mind. Clark forsees the development of
cognitive prosthetics, or electronic brain enhancements, as only the next logical step in the human mind’s natural integration with technology. Clark’s research interests also include
wetwiring and other human-electronic integration experiments, as well as technological advances in immediate human communication and their utilization in society.
Books by Andy Clark:
*
Microcognition: Philosophy, Cognitive Science and Parallel Distributed Processing*
Associative Engines: Connectionism, Concepts and Representational Change (1993)*
Being There: Putting Brain, Body and World Together Again*
Natural Born Cyborgs*
Mindware: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Cognitive Science (2001)Clark is also on the
editing boards of the following
scientific journals:
Cognitive ScienceConnection ScienceMinds & MachinesPhilosophy and SocietyPragmatics and CognitionCognitive Science QuarterlyBehavioral & Brain Sciences*
Excerpt from Natural Born Cyborgs*
Clark’s papers available online
*
Interview with Future Now*
Publications
