Mind, Body, World- Foundations of Cognitive Science, 2013a

This system is then placed in an interesting environment in order to see what it can
and cannot do. In other words, forward engineering starts with implementational
and architectural investigations. Forward engineering is motivated by the realization
that an agent’s environment is a crucial contributor to behavioural complexity,
and it is an attempt to leverage this possibility. As a result, some have argued that
this approach can lead to simpler theories than is the case when reverse engineering
is adopted (Braitenberg, 1984).
Shapiro (2011) has noted that it is too early to characterize embodied cognitive
science as a unified school of thought. The many different variations of the embodied
approach, and the important differences between them, are beyond the scope of the
current chapter. A more accurate account of the current state of embodied cognitive
science requires exploring an extensive and growing literature, current and historical
(Agre, 1997; Arkin, 1998; Bateson, 1972; Breazeal, 2002; Chemero, 2009; Clancey, 1997;
Clark, 1997, 2003, 2008; Dawson, Dupuis, & Wilson, 2010; Dourish, 2001; Gallagher,
2005; Gibbs, 2006; Gibson, 1979; Goldman, 2006; Hutchins, 1995; Johnson, 2007;
Menary, 2010; Merleau-Ponty, 1962; Neisser, 1976; Noë, 2004, 2009; Pfeifer & Scheier,
1999; Port & van Gelder, 1995b; Robbins & Aydede, 2009; Rupert, 2009; Shapiro, 2011;
Varela, Thompson, & Rosch, 1991; Wilson, 2004; Winograd & Flores, 1987b).
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