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Autre Publication Scientifique Année : 2005

Cognitive Science

Résumé

Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of mind and brain, combining the concepts, methods and insights of large parts of psychology, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, linguistics, philosophy, anthropology and other social sciences, and formal methods from computer science, mathematics and physics. It capitalizes on polar oppositions such as function (the cognitive/peceptual/motor/emotional faculties and abilities identified by psychology, linguistics and philosophy) vs form (the biological, mechanical, or formal-computational realizations of these functions); infant vs adult; normal vs inpaired; human vs prehuman, non-human primate and nonprimate animal; natural vs artificial; individual vs social/distributed. It is entering a phase of explosive development as neuroimaging techniques bring new methods of evidence-gathering to the field at just about the moment where it has reached a level of integration, sophistication and knowledge which were simply unthinkable when it emerged half a century ago. Cognitive science thus understood is a major challenge and undertaking in pure science for the XXIst century. The potential for applications, in the medical and psychiatric realm, for sensory and motor prostheses, for normal, remedial, and compensatory education, for cognitive, communicative, and decision-making tools is enormous. The impact on individual, social, and cultural practices and self-understanding, with implications in the political, economic, and ethical realms, cannot be underestimated. Finally, the stimulation which cognitive science brings to its core contributing disciplines, and to the general movement of scientific and cultural ideas, is considerable. Europe, which holds a large part of the responsibility and merit for launching cognitive science and fuelling it with some of its key insights, has of late been lagging behind the US and Japan, and must make a very resolute effort to catch up and remain in the lead, in the face of the increased level of competition brought about by China, which is giving cognitive neuroscience top priority. Europe is motivated to do so, in part for reasons shared with its competitors, in part for reasons of its own, such as the specific problems of a diverse, multicultural, complex, and ageing population. It also has the means to realize this ambition: cutting-edge teams in various areas, strong traditions in the core disciplines, a respect for diversity which has preserved a pool of seminal ideas and active traditions which will be needed in the search for the more sophisticated and differentiated ideas required as the simple intuitions of the early stages no longer suffice, last but not least an excellently trained population of top students. Building a strong European cognitive science is a goal which all the members of the EC can contribute to, as all of them can, and have begun to, promote research in the field, which does not require the heavy artillery of 'big science', However, there are many obstacles standing in the way, some having to do with the handicaps shared by all of European science, some related specifically to cognitive science, such as, an unfocused perception of its nature and potential in academic institutions and policy-making bodies; the competition of reigning branches in the core disciplines; a less than positive attitude towards interdisciplinary work; a reluctance to change basic organizational patterns, and a generally slow pace in the implementation of innovative policies. The report recommends a resolutely top-down approach to get European cognitive science off the ground, based on a combination of 'Europeanized' centers of excellence, thematic networks, direct encouragement of pre-identified teams of excellence and the usual competitive call for proposals. It also proposes a number of concrete measures to avoid the perhaps overly-emphasized pitfalls of this policy style. It identifies some of the key areas in which decisive action is needed, either to save islands of excellence threatened with extinction, or to promote work in areas where progress is crucially required. In order to finalize the diagnosis and policy choices to be made, and to conduct an ongoing, proactive application and adjustement of these choices, an assessment of operations in progress, and the planning of the next stages, the report suggests the creation of a High Authority for Cognitive Science in Europe.
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Dates et versions

halshs-00791415 , version 1 (21-02-2013)

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  • HAL Id : halshs-00791415 , version 1

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Daniel Andler. Cognitive Science. 2005. ⟨halshs-00791415⟩
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