Ezequiel A Di Paolo (born in Buenos Aires, 1970) is a full-time Research Professor at

Ikerbasque Ikerbasque, the Basque Foundation for Science, is a foundation promoted by the Basque Government in 2007 to contribute to the development of scientific research in the Basque Country by attracting researchers of excellence and consolidating career ...

, the Basque Foundation for Science. He also has affiliations with the Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

. His field of research covers

enactivism Enactivism is a position in cognitive science that argues that cognition arises through a dynamic interaction between an acting organism and its environment. It claims that the environment of an organism is brought about, or enacted, by the active ...

and embodiment 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 ...

Education

Di Paolo studied Physics at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

and obtained a Master of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering from the

Balseiro Institute Balseiro Institute () is an Argentine academic institution that belongs partially to the National University of Cuyo and partially to the National Atomic Energy Commission. It is located in Bariloche, Río Negro province, Argentina. Notable alu ...

in Argentina. He has a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degree in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence from the

Academic work

His work includes research in

embodied cognition Embodied cognition represents a diverse group of theories which investigate how cognition is shaped by the bodily state and capacities of the organism. These embodied factors include the motor system, the perceptual system, bodily interactions wi ...

, dynamical systems, adaptive behaviour in natural and artificial systems, biological modelling,

complex systems A complex system is a system composed of many components that may interact with one another. Examples of complex systems are Earth's global climate, organisms, the human brain, infrastructure such as power grid, transportation or communication s ...

evolutionary robotics Evolutionary robotics is an embodied approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in which robots are automatically designed using Darwinian principles of natural selection. The design of a robot, or a subsystem of a robot such as a neural controller, ...

, and

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...

. His research is in the tradition established by Varela, Thompson and Rosch, which was an early example of the embodied, enactive approach to cognition. Di Paolo believes that embodiment and

have the potential to increase our understanding in traditional problems of

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, ...

, and advocates that these alternative views should be explored and developed further, rather than being subsumed (or 'watered down') under more traditional frameworks, such as the cartesian dualistic model. His promotion and exploration of embodiment and enactivism is carried on through his work in the academic consortiu
eSMCs
, an EU funded project to investigate the role of sensorimotor contingencies in cognition. Additionally, he is involved i
Centre for Life, Mind and Society
a research group spanning complex systems in biology and self-organising systems. Other areas of his work include social cognition and intersubjectivity. He is involved as principal investigator with the Marie-Curie Initial Training Networ
TESIS — Towards an Embodied Science of InterSubjectivity
He is Editor-in-chief of the interdisciplinary journal ''

Adaptive Behavior Adaptive behavior is behavior that enables a person (usually used in the context of children) to cope in their environment with greatest success and least conflict with others. This is a term used in the areas of psychology and special education ...

''.

Publications

* * * * *Di Paolo, E. A. (2010). Robotics inspired in the organism. Intellectica, 53-54, 129–162. * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Personal blog

University of Sussex
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paolo, Ezequiel A. Di Enactive cognition Cognitive scientists Philosophers of science Living people 1970 births Researchers of artificial life Alumni of the University of Sussex University of Buenos Aires alumni