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Through the looking glass: self and others.
Corrado Sinigaglia1, Giacomo Rizzolatti
1University of Milan, Department of Philosophy, via Festa del Perdono 7, I-20122 Milano, Italy. corrado.sinigaglia@unimi.it
Consciousness and Cognition
|January 12, 2011
Summary
The mirror mechanism offers an embodied understanding of actions, challenging traditional views of self and others. It reveals a shared foundation for self-awareness and highlights motor possibilities in experiencing ourselves and others.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Philosophy of Mind
Background:
- Traditional views often separate the self from others.
- Understanding actions has been primarily studied from an external perspective.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the significance of the mirror mechanism for self and other perception.
- To challenge established concepts of the self and others.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of the mirror mechanism's implications.
- Philosophical argumentation regarding embodied cognition.
Main Results:
- The mirror mechanism provides an "inside" understanding of actions.
- It establishes a common ground for distinguishing self from other.
- Self and other experiences are fundamentally linked to motor possibilities.
Conclusions:
- The mirror mechanism necessitates a revision of traditional self/other distinctions.
- Embodied simulation via mirror neurons shapes our subjective experience of agency and social cognition.
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