Interstellar Intersubjectvity: The Significance of Shared Cognition for Communication, Empathy, and Altruism in Space
(2014) p.141-167- Abstract
- What kind of indispensable cognitive ability is needed for intelligence, sociability, communication, and
technology to emerge on a habitable planet? My answer is simple: intersubjectivity. I stress the
significance of intersubjectivity, of shared cognition, for extraterrestrial intelligence and interstellar
communication, and argue that it is in fact crucial and indispensable for any successful interstellar
communication, and in the end also for the concepts that are focus of this volume, empathy and altruism in
space. Based on current studies in cognitive science, I introduce the concept of intersubjectivity as a key to
future search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and then... (More) - What kind of indispensable cognitive ability is needed for intelligence, sociability, communication, and
technology to emerge on a habitable planet? My answer is simple: intersubjectivity. I stress the
significance of intersubjectivity, of shared cognition, for extraterrestrial intelligence and interstellar
communication, and argue that it is in fact crucial and indispensable for any successful interstellar
communication, and in the end also for the concepts that are focus of this volume, empathy and altruism in
space. Based on current studies in cognitive science, I introduce the concept of intersubjectivity as a key to
future search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and then explain—leaning on phylogenetic, ontogenetic, and
cultural-historical studies of cognition—why intersubjectivity is a basic requisite for the emergence of
intelligence, sociability, communication, and technology. In its most general definition, intersubjectivity is
the sharing of experiences about objects and events. I then discuss what “intelligence” is. I define it as
cognitive flexibility, an ability to adjust to changes in the physical and socio-cultural environment. Next, I
discuss sociability and complex social systems, and conclude that we probably can expect that an
extraterrestrial civilization which we can communicate with has a high degree of social complexity, which
entails a high degree of communicative complexity and high degree of cognitive flexibility. Concerning
communication, I discuss intention, attention and communicative complexity. I also stress three sociocognitive
capacities that characterize advanced complex technology: a sustainable, complex social system,
with a regulated system for collaboration, such as ethics; complex communication for collaboration and
abstract conceptualization; and a high degree of distributed cognition. Finally, if we conclude that
intersubjectivity is a fundamental requisite, we then have some options for future interstellar
communication. We should target Earth analogues, monitor them, and finally initiate an interstellar
intersubjective interaction. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4196139
- author
- Dunér, David LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2014
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- Extraterrestrial Altruism: Evolution and Ethics in the Cosmos
- editor
- Vakoch, Douglas A.
- pages
- 141 - 167
- publisher
- Springer
- ISBN
- 978-3-642-37749-5
- project
- Centre for Cognitive Semiotics (CCS)
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 7d40a378-7141-4551-9c5c-9a57dbb87231 (old id 4196139)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 11:47:11
- date last changed
- 2018-11-21 21:07:13
@inbook{7d40a378-7141-4551-9c5c-9a57dbb87231,
abstract = {What kind of indispensable cognitive ability is needed for intelligence, sociability, communication, and<br/><br>
technology to emerge on a habitable planet? My answer is simple: intersubjectivity. I stress the<br/><br>
significance of intersubjectivity, of shared cognition, for extraterrestrial intelligence and interstellar<br/><br>
communication, and argue that it is in fact crucial and indispensable for any successful interstellar<br/><br>
communication, and in the end also for the concepts that are focus of this volume, empathy and altruism in<br/><br>
space. Based on current studies in cognitive science, I introduce the concept of intersubjectivity as a key to<br/><br>
future search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and then explain—leaning on phylogenetic, ontogenetic, and<br/><br>
cultural-historical studies of cognition—why intersubjectivity is a basic requisite for the emergence of<br/><br>
intelligence, sociability, communication, and technology. In its most general definition, intersubjectivity is<br/><br>
the sharing of experiences about objects and events. I then discuss what “intelligence” is. I define it as<br/><br>
cognitive flexibility, an ability to adjust to changes in the physical and socio-cultural environment. Next, I<br/><br>
discuss sociability and complex social systems, and conclude that we probably can expect that an<br/><br>
extraterrestrial civilization which we can communicate with has a high degree of social complexity, which<br/><br>
entails a high degree of communicative complexity and high degree of cognitive flexibility. Concerning<br/><br>
communication, I discuss intention, attention and communicative complexity. I also stress three sociocognitive<br/><br>
capacities that characterize advanced complex technology: a sustainable, complex social system,<br/><br>
with a regulated system for collaboration, such as ethics; complex communication for collaboration and<br/><br>
abstract conceptualization; and a high degree of distributed cognition. Finally, if we conclude that<br/><br>
intersubjectivity is a fundamental requisite, we then have some options for future interstellar<br/><br>
communication. We should target Earth analogues, monitor them, and finally initiate an interstellar<br/><br>
intersubjective interaction.},
author = {Dunér, David},
booktitle = {Extraterrestrial Altruism: Evolution and Ethics in the Cosmos},
editor = {Vakoch, Douglas A.},
isbn = {978-3-642-37749-5},
language = {eng},
pages = {141--167},
publisher = {Springer},
title = {Interstellar Intersubjectvity: The Significance of Shared Cognition for Communication, Empathy, and Altruism in Space},
year = {2014},
}