Enactivism and the nature of mind

Mark McKergow, Kirsten Dierolf

Abstract

Daniel D. Hutto is Professor of Philosophical Psychology at the University of Wollongong. He is a leading figure in the development of enactivist philosophy of mind, which moves away from the intellectualist idea that minds essentially represent and compute, and promoting in its place the a vision of minds as fundamentally embedded in and interactively engaged with the world. Dan was previ- ously at the University of Hertfordshire, where he was involved with Mark McKergow in setting up the HESIAN research hub connecting enactive theory with solution- focused (SF) narrative and interactional practices. Together they see the enactivist movement in the philosophy of mind as being very congenial for understanding SF practice and its effectiveness. Dan recently moved to Australia and began the interview by giving a Skype tour of his new house complete with palm trees and a swimming pool. He mentioned that while enac- tivist ideas have gained some acceptance in Europe, there are special advantages to bringing them to the closer attention of the Australian philosophical community, given that so many of its senior figures are committed to natural- istic approaches to mind. Hence the move to Australia has provided an opportunity for interesting debate and a way of extending the enactivist movement.

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