Distributed Cognition in Medieval and Renaissance Culture

Reveals the diverse ways that cognition was seen as spread over brain, body and world in the 9-17th centuries The second book in an ambitious 4-volume set looking at distributed cognition in the history of thought Includes essays on literature, philosophy, law, art, music, medicine, science and material culture For students and scholars in medieval and Renaissance studies, cognitive humanities and philosophy of mind Draws out what was distinctive about medieval and Renaissance insights into (and superstitions about) the cognitive roles of the body and environment Examines how humanities topics are affected by new insights from the cognitive sciences This collection explores how medieval and Renaissance practices and ideas reveal the expression (and suppression) of cognition as distributed across brain, body and world. As many of the texts and practices have influenced later Western European societies and cultures, this book reveals vital stages in the historical development of our attempts to comprehend and optimise the distributed nature of cognition.