the
mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding
through thought, experience, and the senses--resulting in a perception,
sensation, notion, or intuition.
It is understandable
that this definition may still leave some with questions. I will define
some of these terms in following pages; I will not discuss all of
these aspects of cognition--but will focus on sensation and
perception.
The word 'cognition', as well as 'cognitive', is used by many different
fields of study. It is important to note that some of these fields
use this term differently and have complex debates over the details
of it's meaning, how to describe the processes, and also how to most
accurately study it. Neuroanthropology is somewhat of a newcomer to
this debate, but has no less stake in it.
I will begin with a neuroscience perspective on cognition, sensation,
and perception; and then I will revisit all of these terms from a
neuroanthropology perspective.
