Regarding Perspectives: Bridging Feminist and Enactivist Theorizing
Nick Brancazio
University of Wollongong
Feb. 4, 2021, 9 a.m. UTC // Feb. 4, 2021, 9 a.m. in UTC
Though the commonalities between feminist epistemologies and situated approaches to cognition are largely “accidental” (Pitts-Taylor 2014), theorists building bridges between these areas have developed a rich literature in what I call feminist philosophy of e-cognition. In encouraging increased engagement with feminist literature across enactive cognitive science more broadly, I offer some insights from standpoint theory. Standpoint theorists have discussed the ways that collectivizing has led to privileged knowledges on the oppressions experienced by marginalised groups as well as a deeper understanding of the differences between the values and interests of communities. Given some central lessons of standpoint theory, I discuss the need for critical reflection on what is being taken for granted in enactive theorizing about the shaping of cognition through social situatedness, norms, identities, and interactions.
