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European Conference on Artificial Life

ECAL 1995: Advances in Artificial Life pp 65–76Cite as

Escaping from the Cartesian mind-set: Heidegger and artificial life

  • 1. Foundations and Epistemology
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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 929))

Abstract

In this paper, I propose a neo-Heideggerian framework for A-Life. Following an explanation of some key Heideggerian ideas, I endorse the view that persistent problems in orthodox cognitive science result from a commitment to a Cartesian subject-object divide. Heidegger rejects the primacy of the subject-object dichotomy; and I set about the task of showing how, by adopting a Heideggerian view, A-Life can avoid the problems that have plagued cognitive science. This requires that we extend the standard Heideggerian framework by introducing the notion of a biological background, a set of evolutionary determined practices which structure the norms of animal worlds. I argue that optimality/ESS models in behavioural ecology provide a set of tools for identifying these norms, and, to secure this idea, I defend a form of adaptationism against enactivist worries. Finally, I show how A-Life can assist in the process of mapping out biological backgrounds, and how recent dynamical systems approaches in A-Life fit in with the neo-Heideggerian conceptual framework.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences, University of Sussex, BN1 9QH, Brighton, UK

    Michael Wheeler

Authors
  1. Michael Wheeler
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Editor information

Federico Morán Alvaro Moreno Juan Julián Merelo Pablo Chacón

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© 1995 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Wheeler, M. (1995). Escaping from the Cartesian mind-set: Heidegger and artificial life. In: Morán, F., Moreno, A., Merelo, J.J., Chacón, P. (eds) Advances in Artificial Life. ECAL 1995. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 929. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-59496-5_289

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-59496-5_289

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-59496-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-49286-3

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