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.
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This paper has evolved quite a bit since I first presented it to a Metaphysics of Science Workshop in October 2007. Present to offer me very useful advice were Ken Aizawa, Carl Gillett, Tom Polger, Bob Richardson, and Jackie Sullivan. I’m also grateful to the audience that heard me deliver this paper at University of Cincinnati in November 2007, as well as an audience at the University of Wollongong in June 2008.
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Shapiro, L. Making sense of mirror neurons. Synthese 167, 439–456 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-008-9385-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-008-9385-8