RE: [xmca] cognition bounded?

From: Cunningham, Donald James <cunningh who-is-at indiana.edu>
Date: Thu Dec 06 2007 - 18:12:35 PST

I am clearly out of my depth here, but the notion of dialogue I was "thinking" about _is_ one of unity. Thinking is always "about" something, a connection is implied. That connection is the unity, the yin and yang, so to speak. They are transactional in Dewey's felicitous phrase. Dynamic. When I say we have to think together it suggests that the unity that results requires connections to make something unique. It cannot be a process of separates acting independently and somehow influencing one another.

Of course I learned most of what I know about Zen from Robert Pirsig and connect it to motorcycle maintenance.

Juan, I have only briefly explored meditation, but it seemed to me that the concept of mindfulness was exactly about experiencing these unities, these connections, seeing the world with fresh eyes.

-----Original Message-----
From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On Behalf Of Juan Felipe Espinosa Cristià
Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2007 8:38 PM
To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Subject: Re: [xmca] cognition bounded?

Yes but the essence of Zen is the non duality that you can feel in meditation
states.

Juan
Paul Dillon escribió:
> The classic Zen (or Chan) Buddhist dialogue is the koan. e.g,, Does a dog
> have Buddha nature? or How much does mu weigh? The answers to these always
> depend on a direct intuitive experience that cannot be rationally deduced.
>
> In that light an actvity theoretic koan occurred to me thinking about the
> thread on "mind": Where are you when you're minding your own business?
>
> Paul
>
> Ana Marjanovic-Shane <ana@zmajcenter.org> wrote:
> It is interesting that you connect Zen with dialogic thought!
> Ana
>
> Cunningham, Donald James wrote:
>> Not to get too Zen here, but if, as many argue, thinking is dialogical, we
>> cannot think without another, real or imagined.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On
>> Behalf Of Ana Marjanovic-Shane
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 11:17 PM
>> To: mcole@weber.ucsd.edu; eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
>> Subject: Re: [xmca] cognition bounded?
>>
>> With whom are we thinking?
>> Ana
>>
>> Mike Cole wrote:
>>
>>> With what are we thinking, Don?
>>> mike
>>>
>>> On Dec 5, 2007 4:43 PM, Cunningham, Donald James
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> Eugene, should your signature question be "What do we think?" instead of
>>>> "What do you think?"? Or "What are we thinking with? [forgive the
>>>> grammar!]?
>>>>
>>>> Don Cunningham
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On
>>>> Behalf Of Eugene Matusov
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 10:46 AM
>>>> To: mcole@weber.ucsd.edu
>>>> Cc: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
>>>> Subject: RE: [xmca] cognition bounded?
>>>>
>>>> Dear Mike and everybody-
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Let me add my 3 cents (dollar is going down ;-) for this discussion. I
>>>> think
>>>> it is better to use the verb "to mind" or "minding" than the noun "the
>>>> mind"
>>>> since we often refer to a process rather than to a thing. In general, I
>>>> agree with Mike, of course. But let tell you an anecdote to illustrate the
>>>> "distributed" (or discursive?) nature of the minding process.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> A few days ago, when I was leaving my work, I could not find my car in the
>>>> university 4-store building parking garage. As my memory has been getting
>>>> more and more mature ;-) every day, I knew that it would happen one day
>>>> and
>>>> that day came. While I was frustrating in my search running from one
>>>> store
>>>> of the parking garage to another, I realized that on the top of forgetting
>>>> where I had parked my car, I forget to pick up a video camera from my lab
>>>> for next day videotaped observation of Lego-Logo Robotics activities at
>>>> the
>>>> Latin-American Community Center. With even more frustration, I went back
>>>> to
>>>> my lab to pick up the camera. At the lab, I realized that I forgot to send
>>>> a
>>>> web announcement to my undergrad students about reading for upcoming class
>>>> discussion. I sent the announcement and made some emails, and did some
>>>> other
>>>> work while I was in lab. When I finished, I realized that it took about 2
>>>> hours. I came back to the parking garage (with the video camera this time)
>>>> to resume the search of my car, the garage was almost empty, and I found
>>>> my
>>>> car very easily. I was thinking about my "strategy" of "waiting" until the
>>>> garage became empty, "That was smart!" Now I am thinking, where was my
>>>> mind?
>>>> Did I have mind at all? Was it minding? Was it MY minding? Did I lose mind
>>>> and then found? Does mind, like sh..., sometimes simply happen?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Or is "my mind" a historical and cultural form of discourse for me to
>>>> notice/recognize certain things and use them in future (like in future
>>>> when
>>>> I lose my car in the UD parking garage I might stop frustrating and stop
>>>> useless searching efforts and just go back to my office to work more
>>>> waiting
>>>> until cars will be gone from the garage)? Is "the mind" reification of
>>>> this
>>>> discourse?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> What do you think?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Eugene
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ---------------------
>>>>
>>>> Eugene Matusov, Ph.D.
>>>>
>>>> Professor of Education
>>>>
>>>> School of Education
>>>>
>>>> University of Delaware
>>>>
>>>> Newark, DE 19716, USA
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> email: ematusov@udel.edu
>>>>
>>>> fax: 1-(302)-831-4110
>>>>
>>>> website: http://ematusov.soe.udel.edu
>>>>
>>>> publications: http://ematusov.soe.udel.edu/vita/publications.htm
>>>>
>>>> ---------------------
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> From: Mike Cole [mailto:lchcmike@gmail.com]
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 11:45 PM
>>>> To: Eugene Matusov
>>>> Subject: Fwd: [xmca] cognition bounded?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>>> From: Mike Cole
>>>> Date: Dec 4, 2007 8:44 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [xmca] cognition bounded?
>>>> To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity"
>>>> Cc: Kevin Rocap >
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> This appears to be the responibility of Deleware and Louisiana. Eugene and
>>>> David?
>>>>
>>>> My view? OF COURSE the mind is in the head.... but not only. If it were
>>>> only
>>>> in the head it would stay
>>>> there and not kill people. Too damned good at killing people as it is!
>>>> mike
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Dec 4, 2007 8:16 PM, Juan Felipe Espinosa Cristià >>> > wrote:
>>>>
>>>> :)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Kevin Rocap escribió:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Then who's minding the store? ;-)
>>>>>
>>>>> Juan Felipe Espinosa Cristià wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Dear All:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> An online paper from the authors is at:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://www.udel.edu/Philosophy/papers/adams2007.pdf
>>>>>>
>>>>>> They said that "the mind is still in the head".
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Juan Felipe Espinosa C.
>>>>>> jfespino@uc.cl
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 12/4/07 11:20 AM, "Peter Smagorinsky" < smago@uga.edu> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Thanks Martin--always useful to see a contrary perspective. The
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>> descriptor
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>> says that the book:
>>>>>>>> "Articulates and defends the "mark of the cognitive", a common sense
>>>>>>>> theory
>>>>>>>> used to distinguish between cognitive and non-cognitive processes"
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I always wonder about "common sense" arguments, and the author's
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>> belief
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>>> they are beyond culture.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Peter Smagorinsky
>>>>>>>> The University of Georgia
>>>>>>>> 125 Aderhold Hall
>>>>>>>> Athens, GA 30602
>>>>>>>> smago@uga.edu/phone:706-542-4507
>>>>>>>> http://www.coe.uga.edu/lle/faculty/smagorinsky/index.html
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>>>> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>> xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>> Behalf Of Martin Packer
>>>>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 10:56 AM
>>>>>>>> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
>>>>>>>> Subject: [xmca] cognition bounded?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Please find below news of the latest books from Blackwell Publishing
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>> in
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>> Aizawa(Centenary
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> An alarming number of philosophers and cognitive scientists have
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>>>>> arguments
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>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> More Information
>>>>>>>> http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/book.asp?ref=9781405149143
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>> ----------------------------
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Juan Felipe Espinosa Cristià
>>>> e-mail: jfespino@uc.cl
>>>> http://jfespino.wordpress.com/
>>>>
>>>> 077070969/3624774
>>>>
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>> --
>> //
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> /Ana Marjanovic-Shane, Ph.D./
>> /151 W. Tulpehocken St./
>>
>> /Philadelphia//, PA 19144///
>>
>> /(h) 215-843-2909/
>>
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>
> --
> //
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> /151 W. Tulpehocken St./
>
> /Philadelphia//, PA 19144///
>
> /(h) 215-843-2909/
>
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--
Juan Felipe Espinosa Cristià
e-mail: jfespino@uc.cl
http://jfespino.wordpress.com/
077070969/3624774
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Received on Thu Dec 6 18:20 PST 2007

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