Thinking Contexts: An Overview

This paper provides an overview of context mapping as a methodology for conceptualizing the lived experience of organisms. Traditionally experience is seen as subjective and not open to scientific investigation. However, rigorously mapping the context experienced by an organism offers a conceptual frame for interpreting its behavior objectively in terms of its state of mind. The methodology assumes an evolutionary dynamic which sees organisms as active agents engaging with their world and changing it in the process. Organisms are not seen as mindless mechanisms or systems. The method is particularly relevant for human ecology in its aim to understand how people engage with their environment. It focuses on the properties of triggering events, rejecting classic stimulus–response approaches. Giving primacy to properties, rather than entities or processes, follows James Gibson’s work on affordances. It is a work in progress that has reached a stage where it is ready for wider consideration.