A historical and critical account of the development of the computational metaphor on the mind. According to this metaphor, the mind is viewed simply as an "outgrowth" or "emergent property" of the brain, a mere "epiphenomenon". The author argues against this standard model.

1: The Scope of Cognitive Science 2: The Psychological Underpinnings of Cognitive Science 3: Other Paths in Cognitive Science 4: The Science of Mind 5: Brain and Mind, a Many-Layered Enigma 6: New Perspectives on Representation and Reality 7: Mathematics and the Mind 8: Explanation in Cognitive Science 9: The Sacred River Notes References Index

"Dodwell enthusiastically leads the reader through the history of thinking on cognition. But be warned: that thinking can be hard going. Dodwell is an experimental psychologist at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and he speaks with authority. Though the name was unfamiliar to me, I trusted him almost immediately. Maybe it's the way he cockily dismisses from the outset many of the 1990s' media sweethearts ... Dodwell argues that cognitive scientists have taken too restricted a view of the mind. He accuses them of concentrating too much on the brain's routines--perception, memory, problem-solving. ... Not enough attention is paid to the 'highlights', he says. What of creativity? What of ideals and imagination and inspiration? To really understand the human mind, these elements must be explored."--New Scientist "Dodwell enthusiastically leads the reader through the history of thinking on cognition. But be warned: that thinking can be hard going. Dodwell is an experimental psychologist at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and he speaks with authority. Though the name was unfamiliar to me, I trusted him almost immediately. Maybe it's the way he cockily dismisses from the outset many of the 1990s' media sweethearts ... Dodwell argues that cognitive scientists have taken too restricted a view of the mind. He accuses them of concentrating too much on the brain's routines--perception, memory, problem-solving. ... Not enough attention is paid to the 'highlights', he says. What of creativity? What of ideals and imagination and inspiration? To really understand the human mind, these elements must be explored."--New Scientist "Documenting the achievements of cognitive science, this volume is a mature retrospective on its limitations and, implicitly, its failures of intent, and this by a participant in the enterprise whose reflections reach back more than 40 years to the beginning of his academic career. It is also a book about the kind of science to which cognitive science aspires but cannot possibly attain given that it deals only with the 'grammar' of mental life and not with its 'drama.' Dodwell is unashamedly engaged in a metaphysical quest to renew cognitive science by calling it back to a prior understanding of the 'human condition.' This book is a courageous endeavor and deserves to be read not only as a critique of cognitive science, but as an autobiographical account of the enlightenment of one participant in that science. The author has opened a way for those of us whose calling it is to understand ourselves and our world. " -- Leendert P. Mos, Canadian Psychology 42:3