Smart Paul
Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ UK.
Philos Technol. 2017;30(3):357-390. doi: 10.1007/s13347-016-0250-2. Epub 2017 Jan 14.
The Internet is an important focus of attention for those concerned with issues of extended cognition. In particular, the application of active externalist theorizing to the Internet gives rise to the notion of Internet-extended cognition: the idea that the Internet can (on occasion) form part of an integrated nexus of material elements that serves as the realization base for human mental states and processes. The current review attempts to survey a range of issues and controversies that arise in respect of the notion of Internet-extended cognition. These include the issue of whether the Internet, as a technological system, is able to support real-world cases of cognitive extension. It also includes issues concerning the cognitive and epistemic impacts of the Internet. Finally, the review highlights a range of issues and concerns that have not been the focus of previous philosophical attention. These include issues of 'network-extended cognitive bloat', 'conjoined minds', and an entirely new form of cognitive extension that goes under the heading of 'human-extended machine cognition'. Together, these issues serve to highlight the value and importance of Internet-extended cognition to contemporary philosophical debates about the extended mind. In particular, the notion of Internet-extended cognition has the potential to highlight points of philosophical progress that are not easily revealed by the kind of technologically low-grade cases that tend to animate the majority of philosophical discussions in this area.
对于那些关注扩展认知问题的人来说，互联网是一个重要的关注焦点。特别是，将主动外在主义理论应用于互联网，引出了互联网扩展认知的概念：即互联网（有时）可以成为物质元素综合联系的一部分，而这种联系构成了人类心理状态和过程的实现基础。当前的综述试图审视一系列围绕互联网扩展认知概念出现的问题和争议。这些问题包括作为技术系统的互联网是否能够支持现实世界中的认知扩展案例。它还包括有关互联网的认知和认识论影响的问题。最后，该综述强调了一系列此前未受到哲学关注的问题和担忧。这些问题包括“网络扩展认知膨胀”、“连体思维”，以及一种全新形式的认知扩展，即“人类扩展机器认知”。这些问题共同凸显了互联网扩展认知对于当代关于扩展心智的哲学辩论的价值和重要性。特别是，互联网扩展认知的概念有可能凸显哲学进步的要点，而这些要点在那些往往主导该领域大多数哲学讨论的低技术等级案例中并不容易显现出来。
