Enactivism is a theory in cognitive science and philosophy of mind that fundamentally challenges how we think about knowledge, perception, and cognition.

From Enactivism | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

In enactivist terms, perceiving, imagining, remembering, and even the most abstract forms of thinking are to be understood, first and foremost, as organismic activities that dynamically unfold across time and space.

The Core Idea

Rather than viewing the mind as a computer that processes representations of an external world, enactivism argues that cognition emerges through our active engagement with our environment. We don’t just passively receive and process information—we literally enact our understanding through embodied interaction with the world.

Key Principles

Embodied Cognition: Our thinking is deeply shaped by having bodies that move through space. Abstract concepts like “understanding” (we talk about “grasping” ideas) or “time” (we think of the future as “ahead” of us) are grounded in bodily experience.

• Connections to George Lakoff theory of cognitive frames
• Connects to my interest of how Etymology reveals implicit cognitive framing

Sense-Making Through Action: We don’t first perceive the world and then act—perception and action are coupled. A simple example: when you reach for a coffee cup, your hand is already shaping itself to the cup’s handle before you consciously “see” it.

• There’s something interesting in how this connects to our understanding of ourselves
• Just as your hand pre-shapes itself to the coffee cup before conscious recognition, you might be pre-shaping your sense of self in response to others before you consciously “know” who you are.
• Our identity might be more like an ongoing improvisation than a discovered truth

No Internal Representations: Instead of storing mental pictures or models of the world, enactivists argue we create meaning through our ongoing interactions. The world itself serves as its own “representation.”

• The “authentic self” becomes less about finding something pre-existing and more about the quality of our engagement with others

I’m fascinated by this term and concept. Not sure how it fits into my interests just yet though.