Published 1 November 2026 · Text V2 · Agentic package A1

1. Cognitive Styles and Epistemic Artifacts: Toward a Methodological Pluralism

This chapter asks how LLMs can enter research practices whose cognitive organization differs. It develops an answer through cognitive pluralism and distributed cognition: researchers integrate LLMs into extended cognitive systems, and the resulting configuration depends on how writing contributes to thought and how an inquiry is organized. The chapter connects these claims to a three-part typology—writing-as-thinking (α), maieutic clarification (γ), and specification-as-implementation (δ)—developed from the author's experience, an exploratory survey, and research on writing processes. The types describe ideal configurations rather than researcher identities. Their epistemic value is assessed contextually, with truth-value and disciplinary standards providing grounds for comparison. This pluralism permits methodological variation while retaining shared constraints: researchers remain responsible for claims, apply criteria of independent verification, and carry the burden of proof. The chapter uses this account to frame methodological awareness as a condition for choosing and evaluating researcher–LLM configurations across tasks and stages of inquiry.

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Frega, Roberto. 2026. “1. Cognitive Styles and Epistemic Artifacts: Toward a Methodological Pluralism.” In The Driver’s Seat: An Introduction to the Epistemology of LLMs. Version V2 / A1. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23857647.