Abstract

It could be argued that computationalism presupposes multiple realizability of computation, while embodiment of cognitive agents is incompatible, or difficult to reconcile with multiple realizability. Thus, some proponents of embodied cognition could reject computationalism for this reason. This paper offers a reply: It is argued that computational systems are not fruitfully described as multiply realizable, and that the notion of organizational invariance captures the underlying intuitions better. But that notion also applies to embodied cognitive agents. Thus, the argument fails, but for a different reason than the one usually presupposed in the debate.