Central and East European
Society for Phenomenology

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236355

Making sense of mirror neurons

Lawrence A. Shapiro

pp. 439-456

Abstract

The discovery of mirror neurons has been hailed as one of the most exciting developments in neuroscience in the past few decades. These neurons discharge in response to the observation of others’ actions. But how are we to understand the function of these neurons? In this paper I defend the idea that mirror neurons are best conceived as components of a sensory system that has the function to perceive action. In short, mirror neurons are part of a hitherto unrecognized “sixth sense”. In this spirit, research should move toward developing a psychophysics of mirror neurons.

Publication details

Published in:

Aizawa Kenneth, Bickle John (2009) Neuroscience and its philosophy. Synthese 167 (3).

Pages: 439-456

DOI: 10.1007/s11229-008-9385-8

Full citation:

Shapiro Lawrence A. (2009) „Making sense of mirror neurons“. Synthese 167 (3), 439–456.