Boyle, Alexandria 
ORCID: 0000-0001-8827-5479
(2018)
Mirror self‐recognition and self‐identification.
Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 97 (2).
284 - 303.
ISSN 0031-8205
Abstract
That great apes are the only primates to recognise their reflections is often taken to show that they are self-aware—however, there has been much recent debate about whether the self-awareness in question is psychological or bodily self-awareness. This paper argues that whilst self-recognition does not require psychological self-awareness, to claim that it requires only bodily self-awareness would leave something out. That is that self-recognition requires ‘objective self-awareness’—the capacity for first person thoughts like ‘that's me’, which involve self-identification and so are vulnerable to error through misidentification. This objective self-awareness is distinct from bodily or psychological self-awareness, requires cognitive sophistication and provides the beginnings of a more conceptual self-representation which might play a role in planning, mental time travel and theory of mind.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19331592 |
| Additional Information: | © 2017 Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, LLC |
| Divisions: | LSE |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) Q Science > QL Zoology |
| Date Deposited: | 08 Sep 2022 14:21 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Oct 2025 16:21 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/116506 |
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