Cognitive sciences and society: promoting a plurality of approaches

In this article, we summarize one of the reflections from Workshop 5, “Cognitive Sciences and Society,” of the CogGames 2024 prospective initiative. We focus here on the theoretical and epistemological assumptions and implications with which cognitive science seeks to objectify societal phenomena, while influencing – through these assumptions – the way in which the society approaches these subjects. While recognizing the usefulness of the many interactions that already exist with society, we question whether the lack of reflection by researchers on these implicit assumptions contributes to the confusion surrounding the gap between what may be seen as a consensus, or even seem obvious in our field, for instance in terms of education, ecological transition, public policy, critical thinking, and reflexivity in democracy, and society's current tendency to express a certain degree of skepticism toward academic scientific knowledge. After a brief introduction to the sociology of science to provide historical context for cognitive science and its apparent positioning, we present various examples of societal issues where cognition plays a major role and where the epistemological implications of our approaches seem to impact the type of solutions envisaged: cognitive biases, attention economy, cognitive warfare, early childhood, and ecological behaviors. We emphasize the need to move beyond the sole prism of individual cognition and place greater emphasis on collective cognition. To this end, we stress the need to strengthen dialogue, collaboration, and consultation with social sciences and humanities, as well as with practitioners in the field and all stakeholders in the society. This could help to better understand, comprehend, and anticipate these societal issues, especially in a context of major transformations linked to the development of artificial intelligence and the risks associated with it.