Chapter 9: Genuine Intersubjectivity Conditions

The text critiques standard "theory of mind" and simulation approaches that treat other people merely as external triggers for internal processing, arguing instead for a phenomenological and enactive perspective where social interaction itself plays a constitutive role in cognition,. Key concepts such as the second-person perspective and reciprocity are explored to explain how individuals co-create a shared "we" space, characterized by phenomena like intra-bodily and inter-bodily resonance,. The chapter details the "interactive brain hypothesis" and Francisco Varela's concept of "inter-being," advocating for a research program that combines phenomenology, dynamical systems theory, and empirical experimentation,. Significant attention is given to agent-based modeling using continuous-time recurrent neural networks, which demonstrates that social coupling can fundamentally reorganize the neural dynamics of interacting agents, creating extended brain-body-environment systems,. Furthermore, the summary covers the Perceptual Crossing Experiment, a minimalist virtual reality paradigm where participants locate each other using only tactile feedback,. The chapter analyzes findings showing that while stability of interaction helps locate a partner, active co-regulation (such as turn-taking) is essential for distinguishing a genuine subject from a "shadow" copy and for generating a clear social experience,. Ultimately, the text argues that shifting away from brain-bound views toward embodied, relational explanations solves the problem of other minds by grounding social understanding in direct, mutual engagement,.