Authors' response: a second-person neuroscience in interaction

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Social Cognition
• Philosophy of Mind

Background:

• Current models of social cognition often rely on spectatorial paradigms.
• Understanding others may be more deeply rooted in engaged, second-person interaction than previously assumed.
• The proposal for second-person neuroscience aims to re-evaluate the mechanisms of social understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To clarify and defend the proposal for second-person neuroscience.
• To address criticisms and potential misinterpretations of the second-person approach.
• To explore the implications of second-person neuroscience for understanding agency, intentionality, and clinical applications.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical argumentation and conceptual analysis.
• Critique of existing spectatorial paradigms in social neuroscience.
• Elaboration of the ontogenetic priority of second-person engaged interaction.

Main Results:

• Second-person engaged interaction is proposed as ontogenetically prior for understanding others.
• Spectatorial paradigms require supplementation for a complete understanding of social interactions.
• Alternative approaches to social understanding implicitly rely on second-person concepts.

Conclusions:

• Second-person neuroscience offers a crucial framework for understanding social cognition.
• The proposal challenges traditional views on cognitive mechanisms confined to intra-agent space.
• The approach has significant implications for theories of agency, intentionality, and clinical practice.