Intercorporeality and the Problem of Other Minds
Acta Analytica June 1, 2026 Valentina Cuccio 1 citation
The recognition of others as conscious individuals with subjective experience is rooted in a pre-reflective, bodily form of intersubjectivity, not in abstract reasoning. Drawing on Merleau-Ponty's concept of intercorporeality, the body plays a dual role: at a basic level, perceiving others' actions triggers bodily simulation that generates an embodied understanding; at a second level, the body contributes to meaning-making through embodied metaphors in language. The case of schizophrenia clarifies this twofold role, showing that disturbances in bodily self-experience can undermine the very conditions for recognizing others as epistemic agents. This reframing carries epistemological implications for the problem of other minds.