The bilocated mind: new perspectives on self-localization and self-identification

Tiziano Furlanetto,Cristina Becchio,Cesare Bertone

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2013.00071

Abstract

Does the human mind allow for self-locating at more than one place at a time? Evidence from neurology, cognitive neuroscience, and experimental psychology suggests that mental bilocation is a complex, but genuine experience, occurring more frequently than commonly thought. In this article, we distinguish between different components of bilocated self-representation: self-localization in two different places at the same time, self-identification with another body, reduplication of first-person perspective. We argue that different forms of mental bilocation may result from the combination of these components. To illustrate this, we discuss evidence of mental bilocation in pathological conditions such as heautoscopy, during immersion in virtual environments, and in everyday life, during social interaction. Finally, we consider the conditions for mental bilocation and speculate on the possible role of mental bilocation in the context of social interaction, suggesting that self-localization at two places at the same time may prove advantageous for the construction of a shared space.

Highlights

In daily life the self is typically tied to one place at a given point in time and this place coincides with the body
Where does the self localize during such experiences? Out-side the bodily borders? At the location of the physical body? Does the human mind allow for locating at more than one place at the same time? In this paper we focus on this latter question, and consider the spatial and temporal dynamics of the self-localization process
Based on the concept of “minimal phenomenal selfhood” (MPS; Blanke and Metzinger, 2009), our contention is that mental bilocation, i.e., localization of the self at two distinct places at the same time, is not a single perceptual experience but can be broken down into different components: self-localization in two different places at the same time, self-identification with another body, and reduplication of first-person perspective

Summary

Introduction

In daily life the self is typically tied to one place at a given point in time and this place coincides with the body. A similar pattern of bilocated self-localization, may be experience in collaborative virtual environments, such as online role playing games, in which users are represented by a virtual alterego, commonly referred to as an avatar. This gaming mode may offer a non-pathological form of self-experience in which, to heautoscopy, gamers identify with their avatar from a third-person perspective (Ganesh et al, 2012).

Results

Conclusion