Dynamical Systems, Emergence and Explanation

1. A NATURAL AFFINITY? The application of concepts from dynamical systems theory to issues in cognitive science is a growing and, I think, laudable project. Such usage has been extended from the neurophysiological level (e.g. Skarda and Freeman, 1987, Globus, 1992) through the intermediate “subsymbolic” level of Smolensky’s connectionism (see also Horgan and Tienson, 1996), right up to the “personal” level of belief/desire psychology (e.g. Townsend and Busemeyer, 1995). Whilst not entirely uncontroversial, such applications have often yielded interesting insights, both empirical and theoretical.