Enactive Cognition and the Other
Enactivism and Levinas Meet Halfway
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6154840 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Geoffrey Dierckxsens (0000-0003-1844-581X, Czech Academy of Sciences, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 100-120 |
| Publication date | 2020-06-15 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2155-1162 • E-ISSN: 2155-1162 |
| Publisher | University Library System, University of Pittsburgh (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.5195/jffp.2020.930 |
| OpenAlex | W3035086728 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 4 |
This paper makes a comparison between enactivism and Levinas’ philosophy. Enactivism is a recent development in philosophy of mind and cognitive science that generally defines cognition in terms of a subject’s natural interactions with the physical environment. In recent years, enactivists have been focusing on social and ethical relations by introducing the concept of participatory sensemaking, according to which ethical know-how spontaneously emerges out of natural relations of participation and communication, that is, through the exchange of knowledge. This paper will argue first that, although participatory sensemaking is a valuable concept in that it offers a practical and realistic way of understanding ethics, it nevertheless downplays the significance of otherness for understanding ethics. I will argue that Levinas’ work demonstrates in turn that otherness is significant for ethics in that we cannot completely anticipate others through participation or know-how. We cannot live the other’s experiences or suffering, which makes ethical relation so difficult and serious (e.g. care for a terminally ill person always falls short to a certain extent). I will argue next that enactivism and Levinas’ philosophy nevertheless do not exclude each other insofar they share a similar concept of subjectivity as a quality of naturally interacting with the external world to gain knowledge (Levinas speaks of dwelling). Finally, I will argue that enactivism’s notion of participatory sensemaking also offers something which Levinas’ insufficiently defines, namely a concept of social justice, based on equality and participation, that emerges out of natural relations
Autopoiesis · Enactivism · Epistemology · Metaphysics · Philosophy of mind · Political science · Sensemaking · Sociology · Subjectivity · Embodied and Extended Cognition · Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy · Philosophy · Philosophy and Theoretical Science
| Citations per year | 0.67 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2020 - 2024 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |