查看文章

In this chapter, we will present and compare two theoretical approaches that focus on the use of artifacts for cognitive purposes—the extended mind thesis (EXT) and the cognitive artifacts approach (CA)—and analyze these differences in order to highlight the strengths and flaws of each approach. According to the extended mind thesis in some cases the tools are so integrated into the cognitive system that they have to be considered an integral part of the mind of the subject. According to the competing cognitive artifacts approach, artifacts that play a crucial role in cognition have to be identified as a specific class of artifacts called “cognitive artifacts”. Having introduced both approaches, we will then respectively present the main argumentative strategies that have been used to support EXT, and the main taxonomies of cognitive artifacts that have been proposed in the literature. To conclude, we will analyze the …