Multiparadigmatic Knowledge as a Problem: Concepts of Mind in Cognitive Anthropology

Abstract

The article offers an analytical overview of the situation in cognitive anthropology. The current state of this field is of particular interest to studies of science and for the history and philosophy of science, particularly for the case of knowledge at the intersection of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, existing amidst the competing approaches, paradigms, and concepts that focus on mind (a closer examination of the problems associated with the multi-disciplinarity of knowledge and a discussion of the possibilities for its extra- or post-paradigmatic development included). Using cognitive anthropology and the historically related cognitive sciences as topical cases, the author examines multi-paradigmatic knowledge functioning. Among other issues, he comments on the problem of multi-paradigmatic and multidisciplinary aspects of the decades-long debate about the boundaries of mind. The author also dwells within this framework on the history of cognitive anthropology and the influence of various scientific ideologies on its agenda.