The shared platform of the articles collected in this volume is used to advocate a dynamical systems approach to cognition. It is argued that recent developments in cognitive science towards an account of embodiment, together with the general approach of complexity theory and dynamics, have a major impact on behavioural and cognitive science. The book points out that there are two domains that follow naturally from the stance of embodiment: first, coordination dynamics is an established empirical paradigm that is best able to aid the approach; second, the obvious goal-directedness of intelligent action (i.e., intentionality) is nicely addressed in the framework of the dynamical synergetic approach.
Wolfgang Tschacher, born in Germany, studied psychology at Tübingen University where he received his Ph.D. in 1990. Psychotherapy training in systemic therapy at the Institute of Family Therapy, Munich. Habilitation in psychology and Venia legendi 1996 at University of Bern, Switzerland, associate professorship in 2002. He currently works at the University Hospital of Psychiatry, where he is head of the department of psychotherapy research. His main interests are in empirical psychotherapy research and experimental psychopathology, with an emphasis on dynamical systems approaches, complexity science, embodied cognition, and phenomena of cognitive self-organization. Organizer of the series of 'Herbstakademie' conferences on systems theory in psychology.
For his reference list and conference / project information see www.upd.unibe.ch.
