Abstract
We offer philosophical motivations for a method we call Virtual World
Cognitive Science (VW CogSci), in which researchers use virtual embodied agents
that are embedded in virtual worlds to explore questions in the field of
Cognitive Science. We focus on questions about mental and linguistic
representation and the ways that such computational modeling can add rigor to
philosophical thought experiments, as well as the terminology used in the
scientific study of such representations. We find that this method forces
researchers to take a god's-eye view when describing dynamical relationships
between entities in minds and entities in an environment in a way that
eliminates the need for problematic talk of belief and concept types, such as
the belief that cats are silly, and the concept CAT, while preserving belief
and concept tokens in individual cognizers' minds. We conclude with some
further key advantages of VW CogSci for the scientific study of mental and
linguistic representation and for Cognitive Science more broadly.