EMPATHY AND THE EXTENDED MIND.

Krueger, Joel W.

I draw upon the conceptual resources of the extended mind thesis (EM) to analyze empathy and interpersonal understanding. Against the dominant mentalistic paradigm, I argue that empathy is fundamentally an extended bodily activity and that much of our social understanding happens outside of the head. First, I look at how the two dominant models of interpersonal understanding, theory theory and simulation theory, portray the cognitive link between folk psychology and empathy. Next, I challenge their internalist orthodoxy and offer an alternative “extended” characterization of empathy. In support of this characterization, I analyze some narratives of individuals with Moebius syndrome, a kind of expressive deficit resulting from bilateral facial paralysis. I conclude by discussing how a Zen Buddhist ethics of responsiveness is helpful for articulating the practical significance of an extended, body-based account of empathy.

EMPATHY; INTERSUBJECTIVITY; PHENOMENOLOGY; SOCIAL perception; ZEN Buddhism; INTERPERSONAL relations; PHILOSOPHY of mind

Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science, 2009, Vol 44, Issue 3, p675

0591-2385

Academic Journal

10.1111/j.1467-9744.2009.01024.x