Musings on Comparative Directions for Situated Cognition

Abstract

This commentary endorses Cheng’s message that situated cognition should be considered more broadly in the field of comparative cognition and that our understanding of situated cognition would profit from a comparative perspective. Additional phenomena that can be framed in terms of distributed cognition are identified. Hybrid machine–animal intelligence is offered as another possible case of situated cognition. The analogy of the extended phenotype is suggested as relevant to comparing conservative and liberal versions of situated cognition. Examination of the evolutionary history and function of situated cognition is identified as a contribution that comparative analysis can provide.