Linguistique de l’écrit

Revue internationale en libre accès

Revue | Volume | Article

235671

Mirror neurons are not evidence for the simulation theory

Shannon Spaulding

pp. 515-534

Résumé

Recently, there as been a resurgence of interest in theories of mindreading. New discoveries in neuroscience have revitalized the languishing debate. The discovery of so-called mirror neurons has revived interest particularly in the Simulation Theory (ST) of mindreading. Both ST proponents and theorists studying mirror neurons have argued that mirror neurons are strong evidence in favor of ST over Theory Theory (TT). In this paper I argue against the prevailing view that mirror neurons are evidence for the ST of mindreading. My view is that on an appropriate construal of their function, mirror neurons do not operate like simulation theorists claim. In fact, mirror neurons are more appropriately understood as one element in an information-rich mindreading process. As such, mirror neurons fit in better with some sort of TT account of mindreading. I offer a positive account, the Model TT, which better explains the role of mirror neurons in social cognition.

Détails de la publication

Publié dans:

Piccinini Gualtiero (2012) Neuroscience and its philosophy. Synthese 189 (3).

Pages: 515-534

DOI: 10.1007/s11229-012-0086-y

Citation complète:

Spaulding Shannon, 2012, Mirror neurons are not evidence for the simulation theory. Synthese 189 (3), Neuroscience and its philosophy, 515-534. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-012-0086-y.