Pesonen, Renne (2025) Rethinking mental representation through the epistemology of modeling. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Problems associated with classical symbolism need not entail the abandonment of representationalism, as some advocates of action-oriented theories of cognition have concluded. This paper argues that a better theory of mental representation can be achieved by applying the epistemology of scientific modeling to research on mental models. The resulting framework integrates action-oriented approaches to cognition with explicit, combinatorially structured representations. It is empirically far better substantiated than symbolic referentialism and aligns more closely with cognitive psychological research than radical enactivist alternatives.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Pesonen, Renne renne.pesonen@gmail.com 0000-0001-6425-5772
Keywords:	Mental representation, Mental models, Epistemology of modeling, Eactivism, Referentialism
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science > Action Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science > Concepts and Representations
Depositing User:	Renne Pesonen
Date Deposited:	01 Oct 2025 18:20
Last Modified:	01 Oct 2025 18:20
Item ID:	26794
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science > Action Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science Specific Sciences > Cognitive Science > Concepts and Representations
Date:	30 September 2025
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/26794

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