The Body Social: An Enactive Approach to the Self
This paper takes a new look at an old question: what is the human self? It offers a proposal for theorizing the self from an enactive perspective as an autonomous system that is constituted through interpersonal relations. It addresses a prevalent issue in the philosophy of cognitive science: the bo...
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Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00986/full |
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doaj-62f6ea8bd3384cf3ad67993a7bcfef652020-11-24T23:56:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782014-09-01510.3389/fpsyg.2014.00986100653The Body Social: An Enactive Approach to the SelfMiriam eKyselo0University of the Basque CountryThis paper takes a new look at an old question: what is the human self? It offers a proposal for theorizing the self from an enactive perspective as an autonomous system that is constituted through interpersonal relations. It addresses a prevalent issue in the philosophy of cognitive science: the body-social problem. Embodied and social approaches to cognitive identity are in mutual tension. On the one hand, embodied cognitive science risks a new form of methodological individualism, implying a dichotomy not between the outside world of objects and the brain-bound individual but rather between body-bound individuals and the outside social world. On the other hand, approaches that emphasize the constitutive relevance of social interaction processes for cognitive identity run the risk of losing the individual in the interaction dynamics and of downplaying the role of embodiment. This paper adopts a middle way and outlines an enactive approach to individuation that is neither individualistic nor disembodied but integrates both approaches. Elaborating on Jonas’ notion of needful freedom it outlines an enactive proposal to understanding the self as co-generated in interactions and relations with others. I argue that the human self is a social existence that is organized in terms of a back and forth between social distinction and participation processes. On this view, the body, rather than being identical with the social self, becomes its mediator.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00986/fullsocial selfSocial identityenactive selfdistinction and participationembodied selfbody-social problem |
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DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Miriam eKyselo |
spellingShingle |
Miriam eKyselo The Body Social: An Enactive Approach to the Self Frontiers in Psychology social self Social identity enactive self distinction and participation embodied self body-social problem |
author_facet |
Miriam eKyselo |
author_sort |
Miriam eKyselo |
title |
The Body Social: An Enactive Approach to the Self |
title_short |
The Body Social: An Enactive Approach to the Self |
title_full |
The Body Social: An Enactive Approach to the Self |
title_fullStr |
The Body Social: An Enactive Approach to the Self |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Body Social: An Enactive Approach to the Self |
title_sort |
body social: an enactive approach to the self |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Psychology |
issn |
1664-1078 |
publishDate |
2014-09-01 |
description |
This paper takes a new look at an old question: what is the human self? It offers a proposal for theorizing the self from an enactive perspective as an autonomous system that is constituted through interpersonal relations. It addresses a prevalent issue in the philosophy of cognitive science: the body-social problem. Embodied and social approaches to cognitive identity are in mutual tension. On the one hand, embodied cognitive science risks a new form of methodological individualism, implying a dichotomy not between the outside world of objects and the brain-bound individual but rather between body-bound individuals and the outside social world. On the other hand, approaches that emphasize the constitutive relevance of social interaction processes for cognitive identity run the risk of losing the individual in the interaction dynamics and of downplaying the role of embodiment. This paper adopts a middle way and outlines an enactive approach to individuation that is neither individualistic nor disembodied but integrates both approaches. Elaborating on Jonas’ notion of needful freedom it outlines an enactive proposal to understanding the self as co-generated in interactions and relations with others. I argue that the human self is a social existence that is organized in terms of a back and forth between social distinction and participation processes. On this view, the body, rather than being identical with the social self, becomes its mediator. |
topic |
social self Social identity enactive self distinction and participation embodied self body-social problem |
url |
http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00986/full |
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AT miriamekyselo thebodysocialanenactiveapproachtotheself AT miriamekyselo bodysocialanenactiveapproachtotheself |
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