STEERING THROUGH THE MURKY WATERS OF A SCIENTIFIC CONFLICT - SITUATEDAND SYMBOLIC MODELS OF CLINICAL COGNITION

The situated action perspective, which embraces a diversity of views, challenges several of the fundamental assumptions of the symbolic info rmation-processing framework underlying cognitive science and artifici al intelligence. In this paper, we consider the following issues: symb olic representations, plans and actions, distributed cognition, and th e transfer of learning. We evaluate each of these issues in terms of r esearch and theories in clinical cognition and examine the implication s for education and training, and for the integration of intelligent s ystems in medical practice. We argue for a reconceptualization of the symbolic framework in terms of the way the role of internal representa tions and cognitive activities are perceived. However, symbolic repres entations are integral to medical cognition and should continue to be central in any theoretical framework. A re-examination of cognitive sc ience in medicine in terms of the relationship among physicians, techn ology, and the workplace could prove to be constructive in bridging th e gap between theory and practice.