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Updated: May 18, 2026
05:21
Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses
Published on: January 7, 2019
A phenomenological approach to psychoprosthetics
1Department of History and Government, Bowie State University, Bowie, MD 20751, USA. fmills@bowiestate.edu
Disability and Rehabilitation
|September 21, 2012
Summary
This study explores how prosthetic devices integrate into the lived human body. It identifies three key conditions for embodiment: corporeal understanding, transparency, and sensorimotor feedback, crucial for prosthetic incorporation.
Area of Science:
- Phenomenology
- Human Embodiment
- Prosthetics
Background:
- Understanding the lived human body is crucial for practitioners.
- Incorporating prosthetic devices into one's body presents unique challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To advance the understanding of human embodiment, particularly concerning prosthetic integration.
- To identify necessary conditions for a prosthesis to become part of the lived body schema.
Main Methods:
- Utilizes the phenomenology of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and other philosophers.
- Examines three core conditions of embodiment: corporeal understanding, transparency, and sensorimotor feedback.
Main Results:
- Identifies corporeal understanding, transparency, and sensorimotor feedback as essential for body schema integration.
- Analyzes how these conditions influence the incorporation of prostheses and artifacts into the lived body.
Conclusions:
- Effective prosthetic integration requires the device to become part of the patient's body schema.
- The identified conditions of embodiment provide a framework for understanding prosthetic incorporation.
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