EMPATHY AND THE EXTENDED MIND

To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2009.01024.x Byline: Joel W. Krueger (1) Keywords: empathy; extended mind; intersubjectivity; Moebius syndrome; phenomenology; simulation theory; social cognition; theory theory; Zen Buddhism Abstract: Abstract. 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. Author Affiliation: (1)Postdoctoral research fellow at the Danish National Research Foundation, Center for Subjectivity Research, University of Copenhagen, Njalsgade 140-142, 5th Floor, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark; emailjoelk@hum.ku.dk.