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Cognitive Artifacts Between Cognitive Sciences and the Philosophy of Technology

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Being and Value in Technology

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Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to explore the key points of the philosophical debate that has developed over the last 10–15 years around the concept of the cognitive artifact. One of the early definitions of cognitive artifacts was provided by Norman, according to whom cognitive artifacts are “artificial instruments that support, display, or process information in order to perform a representational function and that affect human cognitive performance” (Norman, Cognitive Artifacts. In J. M. Carroll (Ed.), Designing Interaction: Psychology at the Human-Computer Interface. Cambridge University Press, 1991, p. 17). The philosophical issues surrounding cognitive artifacts can be grouped into four categories: the definition of cognitive artifacts, their ontological characterisation, the development of a taxonomy of these objects and the ethical aspects surrounding them. In this chapter I present and briefly discuss the main philosophical stances that have been developed concerning cognitive artifacts over the last 10–15 years.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS Pavia, Pavia, Italy

    Marco Fasoli

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  1. Marco Fasoli
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Correspondence to Marco Fasoli .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Antiquity, Philosophy and History, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

    Enrico Terrone

  2. Department of Philosophy, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Vera Tripodi

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Fasoli, M. (2022). Cognitive Artifacts Between Cognitive Sciences and the Philosophy of Technology. In: Terrone, E., Tripodi, V. (eds) Being and Value in Technology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88793-3_3

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