Table Of ContentN ew Directions in Philosophy and Cognitive Science
Series Editors: J ohn Protevi, Louisiana State University and Michael Wheelerr ,
University of Stirling
This series brings together work that takes cognitive science in new directions.
Hitherto, philosophical reflection on cognitive science – or perhaps better, philo-
sophical contribution to the interdisciplinary field that is cognitive science – has
for the most part come from philosophers with a commitment to a representa-
tionalist model of the mind.
However, as cognitive science continues to make advances, especially in its
neuroscience and robotics aspects, there is growing discontent with the represen-
tationalism of traditional philosophical interpretations of cognition. Cognitive
scientists and philosophers have turned to a variety of sources – phenomenology
and dynamic systems theory foremost among them to date – to rethink cognition
as the direction of the action of an embodied and affectively attuned organism
embedded in its social world, a stance that sees representation as only one tool of
cognition, and a derived one at that.
To foster this growing interest in rethinking traditional philosophical notions of
cognition – using phenomenology, dynamic systems theory, and perhaps other
approaches yet to be identified – we dedicate this series to “New Directions in
Philosophy and Cognitive Science.”
Titles include:
Robyn Bluhm, Anne Jaap Jacobson and Heidi Maibom (editors )
NEUROFEMINISM
Issues at the Intersection of Feminist Theory and Cognitive Science
Jesse Butler
RETHINKING INTROSPECTION
A Pluralist Approach to the First-Person Perspective
Massimiliano Cappuccio and Tom Froese (e ditors )
ENACTIVE COGNITION AT THE EDGE OF SENSE-MAKING
Making Sense of Non-sense
Matt Hayler
CHALLENGING THE PHENOMENA OF TECHNOLOGY
Embodiment, Expertise, and Evolved Knowledge
Anne Jaap Jacobson
KEEPING THE WORLD IN MIND
Mental Representations and the Sciences of the Mind
Julian Kiverstein and Michael Wheeler ( editors )
HEIDEGGER AND COGNITIVE SCIENCE
Michelle Maiese
EMBODIMENT, EMOTION, AND COGNITION
Richard Menary
COGNITIVE INTEGRATION
Mind and Cognition Unbounded
Zdravko Radman (editorr )
KNOWING WITHOUT THINKING
Mind, Action, Cognition and the Phenomenon of the Background
Matthew Ratcliffe
RETHINKING COMMONSENSE PSYCHOLOGY
A Critique of Folk Psychology, Theory of Mind and Simulation
Jay Schulkin (editorr )
ACTION, PERCEPTION AND THE BRAIN
Adaptation and Cephalic Expression
Tibor Solymosi and John R. Shook (editors )
NEUROSCIENCE, NEUROPHILOSOPHY AND PRAGMATISM
Brains at Work with the World
Rex Welshon
NIETZSCHE’S DYNAMIC METAPSYCHOLOGY
This Uncanny Animal
Forthcoming titles:
Miranda Anderson
THE RENAISSANCE EXTENDED MIND
Maxime Doyon and Thiemo Breyer
NORMATIVITY IN PERCEPTION
New Directions in Philosophy and Cognitive Science
Series Standing Order ISBN 978–0–230–54935–7 Hardback
978–0–230–54936–4 Paperback
(outside North America onlyy)
You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order.
Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with
your name and address, the title of the series and one of the ISBNs quoted above.
Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS, England.
Challenging the
Phenomena of Technology
Embodiment, Expertise, and Evolved
Knowledge
Matt Hayler
University of Birmingham, UK
ISBN 978-1-349-99991-0 ISBN 978-1-137-37786-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137377869
© Matt Hayler 2015
Reprint of the original edition 2015
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted
save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,
Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2015 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-137-37785-2
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing
processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the
country of origin.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
For Regenia Gagnier, the most supportive mentor that I could
have hoped for.
F or Matthew Flanagan, for making me think better and at all.
F or Richard Lee, my best friend and confidant, who always
helps me tackle mountains.
F or Briony Wickes, for taking a risk, taking my hand, and
reminding me how much I like an adventure.
A nd for my parents, Brian and Jackie Hayler. There are no
words, but all of these are for you.
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Contents
Acknowledgements v iii
Introduction 1
1 F ighting the Tools of Our Nature: Technology in
the Popular Imagination 7
2 Beyond Common Sense: Technology by Definition 60
3 A ll Is One but Not for All: Technology as an Object
Encountered in the World 119
4 Brushing Against Reality: Technological Interactions
Require Knowledge 164
5 What Everything Knows: Technologies as an Embodiment
of Knowledge 207
Conclusion 2 30
Bibliographyy 235
Index 2 49
vii
Acknowledgements
I started writing this book a long time ago at the University of Exeter. A
huge thank you must first go to Flanny, Jos, and Bianca for making sure
that the earliest drafts were written under the most ideal living condi-
tions that I’ve ever had as an adult, full of great food, great company,
and the best conversation; we need to hang out more. Carrie, thanks
for all the Exeter dancing and for teaching me about poetry, see you
in Brum soon. Ben and Lucy, you’ve always been the best hosts and
walking companions, thank you.
Thanks also to the friends and colleagues there who spoke to me
for eight years about various aspects of academic life and writing,
took me out for dinner, drinks, and poker, and generally made my
time there less difficult and a lot more fun: Andy Brown, John Dupre,
Jana Funke, Regenia Gagnier, Felicity Gee, Gabriella Giannachi, Jason
Hall, Siân Harris, Stephen Hinchliffe, Joe Kember, James Lyons, Robert
Mack, Andrew McRae, Sinéad Moynihan, Alex Murray, Dan North,
Sam North, Andrew Pickering, Vike Plock, Derek Ryan, Laura Salisbury,
Philip Schwyzer, Florian Stadtler, Andrew Thorpe, Corinna Wagner, Paul
Williams, Paul Young and Patricia Zakreski. Special mention must go to
Sam Goodman, Victoria Bates, and Ryan Sweet who have become the
greatest of friends as well as my academic heroes for their diligence,
passion, and constant belief that the job, and thinking about things in
general, can and should be fun – also V danced, Sam climbed, and Ryan
trained me, all of which were always appreciated and anticipated. Thanks
also to the Exeter Record Club, Nick, Jon, Gareth, and Ian, for taking me
in, keeping me sane, and turning me on to all the best music.
My undergrads at Exeter made me better, challenging my thinking,
making me laugh, and ensuring that I found out that teaching is the
best job in the world. My PhD students, Richard Graham and Richard
Carter, will go on to great things and are already writing important work.
They’ve both talked with me about many of the ideas presented in this
book – any mistakes here are errors that they would never have made.
Zoe, thanks to you and Rich for all the calming drinks, burgers, chats,
dinners, and support; your hard work is an inspiration.
The biggest change to my academic career has come from being part
of the Cognitive Futures research network; I am forever indebted to Lisa
Otty, Peter Garratt, and Mike Wheeler for their generosity and excellent
viii
Acknowledgements ix
company – this book and my job at Birmingham stem from my time
working with them.
Thanks to Richard and Lorna Lee, Rob and Sarah Maythorne, and James
Burnett, because you’ve all helped for ages, maybe without knowing just
how much. James, you’ve been teaching me for forever, ta.
Jackie Hayler generously read through the chapters in their final order
(thanks mum!), and Flanny, Jos, Ben, Sam, Rich, James, and Briony
have been in endless discussions with me over the years about various
sections – the mistakes are mine, any clarity is theirs.
A huge thank you to my anonymous reviewer and proofreader who
made many helpful suggestions at the final stages. Thanks also to Esme
and Brendan at Palgrave Macmillan and Vidhya at Newgen Knowledge
Works for their support and expert marshalling of the final documents.
I wouldn’t have thought about the issues discussed in this book if I
hadn’t read vital work by Davis Baird, Anthony Chemero, Andy Clark,
Shaun Gallagher, James Gleick, Graham Harman, N. Katherine Hayles,
Don Ihde, Matthew Kirschenbaum, Joseph C. Pitt and Henry Plotkin.
Mark Z. Danielewski changed my life by changing the way I thought
about reading over a decade ago with House of Leaves .
