The Extended Mind and Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

Extended mind theory, a recent development in the field of cognitive philosophy, suggests that the information and processes contained in external objects such as notebooks and computers can be considered as much a part of a person's mind as the processes contained within the brain itself. This paper aims to outline extended mind theory, and to explore how it might be applied to an understanding of psychiatric conditions such as borderline personality disorder (BPD). Those with BPD have a deficit in their ability to perform certain high-level cognitive tasks, such as regulation of affect and impulse control. They incorporate the brains of people close to them, to supplement their own brains when performing these tasks. Using an external object or person as part of one's own cognitive apparatus demands nearly constant proximity and an exceptionally intimate informational bond. This would account for the BPD sufferer's panic and despair in the face of abandonment--when abandonment means literally losing one's mind, it could seem worth any effort or risk to avoid such a loss. Further application of extended mind theory to other psychiatric phenomena is also considered.