Dynamicism, also termed dynamic cognition, is an approach in

cognitive science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...

popularized by the work of philosopher

Tim van Gelder Tim van Gelder is an Australian researcher who is the co-founder of Austhink Software, an Australian software development company, and the Managing Director of Austhink Consulting. Biography He was born in Australia, and was educated at the Uni ...

. It argues that differential equations and

dynamical systems In mathematics, a dynamical system is a system in which a Function (mathematics), function describes the time dependence of a Point (geometry), point in an ambient space, such as in a parametric curve. Examples include the mathematical models ...

are more suited to modeling

cognition Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

rather than the commonly used ideas of symbolicism,

connectionism Connectionism is an approach to the study of human mental processes and cognition that utilizes mathematical models known as connectionist networks or artificial neural networks. Connectionism has had many "waves" since its beginnings. The first ...

, or traditional

computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

models. It is closely related to dynamical neuroscience.

References

Cognitive science Cognitive modeling {{cognitive-psych-stub