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  • © 2019

The Philosophy of Affordances

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Explores the key philosophical features of affordances
  • Proposes an innovative philosophical characterization of affordances as dispositional properties
  • Analyzes the implications that a proper understanding of affordances has for the philosophy of mind and the cognitive sciences

Part of the book series: New Directions in Philosophy and Cognitive Science (NDPCS)

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
  2. Introduction

    • Manuel Heras-Escribano
    Pages 1-16
  3. Ecological Psychology

    • Manuel Heras-Escribano
    Pages 17-60
  4. The Ontology of Affordances

    • Manuel Heras-Escribano
    Pages 61-89
  5. The Normativity of Affordances

    • Manuel Heras-Escribano
    Pages 91-114
  6. Toward an Ecological Approach to Agency

    • Manuel Heras-Escribano
    Pages 115-145
  7. Ecological Information and Perceptual Content

    • Manuel Heras-Escribano
    Pages 147-162
  8. New Challenges for Ecological Psychology

    • Manuel Heras-Escribano
    Pages 163-190
  9. Epilogue

    • Manuel Heras-Escribano
    Pages 191-212
  10. Back Matter

    Pages 213-232

About this book

This book is the first monograph fully devoted to analyzing the philosophical aspects of affordances. The concept of affordance, coined and developed in the field of ecological psychology, describes the possibilities for action available in the environment. This work offers a systematic approach to the key philosophical features of affordances, such as their ontological characterization, their relation to normative practices, and the idea of agency that follows from viewing affordances as key objects of perception, while also proposing an innovative philosophical characterization of affordances as dispositional properties.

The Philosophy of Affordances analyzes the implications that a proper understanding of affordances has for the philosophy of mind and the cognitive sciences, and aims to intensify the dialogue between philosophy and ecological psychology in which each discipline benefits from the tools and insights of the other.

Authors and Affiliations

  • IAS-Research Centre for Life, Mind, and Society, University of the Basque Country, San Sebastián, Spain

    Manuel Heras-Escribano

About the author

Manuel Heras-Escribano is a Juan de la Cierva-Formación research fellow working at the IAS Research Centre for Life, Mind, and Society at the University of the Basque Country, Spain. Formerly a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Granada, Spain, and the Alberto Hurtado University, Chile, his work focuses on the philosophical and conceptual aspects of the embodied and situated cognitive sciences, with a growing interest in the evolutionary origins of cognition.   

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access