title: Use of tools and misuse of embodied cognition: Reply to Buxbaum (2017).
abstract: Osiurak and Badets (2016) examined the validity of the manipulation-based versus the reasoning-based approaches to tool use in light of studies in experimental psychology and neuropsychology. They concluded that the reasoning-based approach seems to be more promising than the manipulation-based approach for understanding the current literature. Buxbaum (2017) questioned this conclusion and raised certain theoretical limitations with regard to the reasoning-based approach. She also suggested that this approach is not well-equipped to integrate the existing psychological and neuroanatomical data in the tool use domain. In this context, she presented a neurocognitive model-the "Two Action Systems Plus" (2AS+) framework-deeply anchored in the embodied cognition approach. In this reply, we address the key points raised by Buxbaum, leading us to draw 2 new conclusions. The first is that the reasoning-based approach integrates the existing psychological and neuroanatomical data not only in the tool use domain, but also in the motor control domain. As a matter of fact, it is even better equipped than the 2AS+ to account for recent neuroscience data. The second is that the 2AS+ suffers from epistemological and theoretical limitations, generating confusion as to what manipulation knowledge-a core concept in this model-precisely is. To sum up, 2AS+ illustrates potential misuse of embodied cognition, viewing tool use mainly as a matter of manipulation and not of understanding mechanical actions between tools and objects. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs (EA 3082), Institut de Psychologie, Université de Lyon.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Osiurak
authors.affiliation: Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d'Aquitaine (UMR 5287), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Badets
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D013850:Thinking; D053001:Tool Use Behavior