1 Mind and Brain : A Catalytic Theory of Embodiment

This paper describes a catalytic theory that grounds cognition in biology. An enzyme is a biological catalyst that increases the speed of a molecular reaction; the reaction is thought to occur via a traveling wave, a soliton, whose formation and persistence depend on the structure or invariance of the catalytic environment. Generalizing to cognition, the invariance of perceptual events plays the role of the environmental structure necessary for catalysis (Davia, in press). Synchronized traveling waves of activity in the nervous system and in motor behavior resemble catalytic solitons. The waves are the way an organism mediates or catalyzes its environment and constitute the organism’s experience. This proposal builds on insights of Gestaltists and neuroscientists about the importance of synchronized traveling waves and suggests that cognition is embodied, not representational.