Handbook of Environmental Engineering, 2009, 3, 121-133, DOI: 10.1007/978-1-59745-479-7_6

The Problem of Other Minds Is Not a Problem: Mirror Neurons and Intersubjectivity

Marco Iacoboni

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Abstract

This chapter discusses evidence from single unit recordings in monkeys and brain imaging in humans suggesting that neural mechanisms of mirroring allow the sharing of mental states between individuals. Such sharing solves the old philosophical problem of other minds. Correlations between mirroring and empathy also suggest that relatively simple neurobiological mechanisms of mirroring maybe at the basis of a secular morality which is built upon biological predispositions we have inherited from our evolutionary ancestors.

Keywords  Mirror neurons – Theory of mind – Simulation theory – Sociality – Imitation

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