What do you think?
Rate this book
Intertwined Creatures: The Embodied Cognitive Science of Self and Other
In one common view, the mind is immaterial, internal, and invisible. From this perspective, the mind is inherently individual and It is unknowable from the outside, separated from the world and from other minds. Anthony Chemero—both a philosopher and a cognitive scientist—offers a powerful challenge to this theory of mind. Bringing together philosophical insight and empirical data, he develops a new understanding of the mind that centers embodiment and social interaction.
According to Chemero, the mind is intertwined with the It depends on the body, the surrounding environment, and the people with whom an individual interacts. He shows that cutting-edge research in cognitive science provides striking experimental evidence for this concept of the intertwined self. Chemero explores the philosophical, moral, and political implications of the claim that the self is necessarily interwoven with the world and with others, drawing connections to phenomenology, critical theory, and feminist political theory. Deeply interdisciplinary and engagingly written, Intertwined Creatures makes an urgent case for seeing the self as social—especially in the age of AI—with radical consequences for ethics and politics.
According to Chemero, the mind is intertwined with the It depends on the body, the surrounding environment, and the people with whom an individual interacts. He shows that cutting-edge research in cognitive science provides striking experimental evidence for this concept of the intertwined self. Chemero explores the philosophical, moral, and political implications of the claim that the self is necessarily interwoven with the world and with others, drawing connections to phenomenology, critical theory, and feminist political theory. Deeply interdisciplinary and engagingly written, Intertwined Creatures makes an urgent case for seeing the self as social—especially in the age of AI—with radical consequences for ethics and politics.
256 pages, Paperback
Published March 3, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 28, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley and Columbia University Press for the eARC
Interesting read taking a look at the idea of an inner mind, hidden and rational, unknowable for anyone outside it. This modern comprehension of the mind is build partially on Descartes and Locke's views and reflexions, rendering the body a mere tool controlled by the upper mind, distant fro the environment and other minds.
Chemero tries and argues against this idea, drawing from Deleuze, Ingold and so many other authors to explain his thesis. We are definitely in interaction with our environement and other people, our senses being filtered by our brain, with no sole director of our perceptions. Wa are actors and acted upon, taken in a net of interaction. As Chemero demonstrates with scientific data, the idea of a withdrawn observant mind, isolated, doesn't hold well under scrutiny, especially if you draw on larger data in psychology, anthropology and ecology.
"Intertwined creatuers" is also deeply relevent in a time where large language models like ChatGPT have taken such a place in the evredyday work and life of some people, when tension in the political sphere are rising, especially around the questions of gender, race and sexuality. AI aren't in bodily interactions with others like we are, and if we are trying to make them resemble us, using the modern theory of the mind, it is a futile task if we forget how much we rely on socialisation and interaction.
I was familiar with most of the authors cited, at least on the surface, which helped in grasping Chemero's work. If you are unfamiliar with them, this read might prove a little challenging at times, but the author has been careful in making it still accessible. Interesting read!
Interesting read taking a look at the idea of an inner mind, hidden and rational, unknowable for anyone outside it. This modern comprehension of the mind is build partially on Descartes and Locke's views and reflexions, rendering the body a mere tool controlled by the upper mind, distant fro the environment and other minds.
Chemero tries and argues against this idea, drawing from Deleuze, Ingold and so many other authors to explain his thesis. We are definitely in interaction with our environement and other people, our senses being filtered by our brain, with no sole director of our perceptions. Wa are actors and acted upon, taken in a net of interaction. As Chemero demonstrates with scientific data, the idea of a withdrawn observant mind, isolated, doesn't hold well under scrutiny, especially if you draw on larger data in psychology, anthropology and ecology.
"Intertwined creatuers" is also deeply relevent in a time where large language models like ChatGPT have taken such a place in the evredyday work and life of some people, when tension in the political sphere are rising, especially around the questions of gender, race and sexuality. AI aren't in bodily interactions with others like we are, and if we are trying to make them resemble us, using the modern theory of the mind, it is a futile task if we forget how much we rely on socialisation and interaction.
I was familiar with most of the authors cited, at least on the surface, which helped in grasping Chemero's work. If you are unfamiliar with them, this read might prove a little challenging at times, but the author has been careful in making it still accessible. Interesting read!
May 12, 2026
Chemero brings together various perspectives from within and beyond radical embodied cognitive science to paint a very social picture of human selves and minds. He draws on a literature I am familiar with and that I enjoy, but I wouldn’t say he does much other than putting others’ work in one place. This task has been accomplished elsewhere with more depth. While the points he makes are crucial and poignant, he uses others to make them. My rating reflects a personal disappointment that this book did not offer a unique and novel contribution to the very lively ongoing discussion about social philosophies of mind. With that said, it is certainly worth celebrating that a renowned scholar in the field is championing more radically relational perspectives. If you’re looking for an overview of current work on relational perspectives to cognitive science, then this book represents a valuable collection of resources. For this reason, I think the current modal rating of 4 stars is valid.
April 7, 2026
Challenging the traditional view of the mind as isolated and immaterial, this persuasive book proposes a new understanding of the brain, centered on embodiment and social interaction. I strongly agree with the author's thesis and the implications for our understanding of consciousness. The book is written in an academic style that may be challenging for lay readers. Still, the groundbreaking content is worth the effort.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews