The Mirror and the Mind: A History of Self-Recognition in the Human Sciences

Scientists have used the mirror self-recognition test to explore questions of self-awareness since the late eighteenth century. The test has been used by researchers from a range of disciplines to investigate how mirrors can lead to both identification and misidentification. While the test failed to determine human specificity, it offers a window into the emergence of fields such as biology, psychology, psychiatry, animal studies, cognitive science, and neuroscience.

Format: Hardback
Length: 312 pages
Publication date: 08 November 2022
Publisher: Princeton University Press

Since the late eighteenth century, scientists have been placing subjects—including humans, infants, animals, and robots—in front of mirrors to observe signs of self-recognition. Mirrors have been considered a potential tool for answering the question: What makes us human? In her book, The Mirror and the Mind, Katja Guenther explores the history of the mirror self-recognition test, tracing how researchers from various disciplines, such as psychoanalysis, psychiatry, developmental and animal psychology, cybernetics, anthropology, and neuroscience, have interpreted the peculiar behaviors elicited by mirrors. Guenther examines how mirrors can lead to both identification and misidentification, and how these experiments ultimately failed to determine human specificity.

The mirror test gained prominence when Charles Darwin challenged the notion that language sets humans apart. Subsequently, the mirror became a dominant method for distinguishing humans from other animals. However, researchers faced challenges in relying solely on language to understand the experiences of nonspeaking subjects. As a result, they developed innovative techniques, including notation strategies, testing protocols, and the cross-disciplinary linking of scientific theories. The mirror test provides a valuable window into the emergence of various fields, including biology, psychology, psychiatry, animal studies, cognitive science, and neuroscience.

Throughout the book, Guenther delves into the diverse experiments conducted with mirrors, highlighting the contributions of influential researchers such as Grey Walter, Beulah Amsterdam, Gordon Gallup, and others. She discusses the mark test, robotic tortoises, anorexia research, mirror neurons, and other groundbreaking studies that have shed light on self-awareness and the human mind. The Mirror and the Mind offers a comprehensive and engaging exploration of the mirror test and its significance in understanding the nature of human consciousness.

Dimension: 235 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691237251