Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2018
Marcin Miłkowski, Robert Clowes, Zuzanna Rucińska et al.
82 citations
Several recent 'wide' perspectives on cognition—embodied, embedded, extended, enactive, and distributed—are only partially relevant because cognitive science has already moved beyond them toward integrated mechanistic explanations that include internal submechanisms, interactions with others, groups, cognitive artifacts, and the environment. These wide perspectives function as research heuristics for building such explanations. The argument draws on developments in the study of mindreading and debates on emotions, showing that cognitive neuroscience has undergone a silent mechanistic revolution, turning from binary oppositions toward integration with the broader field.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2015
Zuzanna Rucińska, Ellen Reijmers
19 citations
The paper presents the enactive account of pretend play (EAPP), a non-standard philosophical view that describes pretend play as arising from interaction and affordances rather than from internal mental representations. This re-characterization helps explain how shared meanings and interaction function in systemic therapies, where play is used to enhance dialog rather than to uncover hidden meanings. The authors conclude by connecting insights from therapeutic practice with philosophical analysis.
Frontiers in Psychology
May 4, 2022
Zuzanna Rucińska, Thomas Fondelli
11 citations
Metaphors are effective therapeutic tools because they connect to action words, allowing a client's embodiment and agency to be explored within dialog. Drawing on embodied, enactive, and ecological ideas, the authors propose a dialogical-enactive account in which metaphors are used to enact change in systemic collaborative therapy. Rather than requiring explicit performances, metaphoric engagement stays within linguistic dialog as an act of participatory sense-making. Two examples with adolescents illustrate how enacting metaphors in shared communication helps clients connect to action and explore their own agency. Talking is seen as a form of doing, unfolding through embodied interaction.
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)
February 13, 2021
Zuzanna Rucińska, Thomas Fondelli, Shaun Gallagher
11 citations
Imagination and metaphor understanding in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often seen as deficits within a standard linguistic framework. This paper argues instead for an embodied and enactive account, which views imagination and metaphor as grounded in bodily interaction and lived experience. A case study from a systemic therapeutic session with a child with ASD illustrates how metaphors emerge through embodied engagement. The authors conclude that this perspective reveals previously overlooked imaginative strengths in children with ASD and suggests interactive interventions—such as those involving physical movement and shared activities—to support metaphor comprehension and imaginative skills.
Phenomenology and the cognitive sciences
January 1, 2022
Martin Weichold, Zuzanna Rucińska
3 citations
A reply defends the praxeological enactivist account of pretense against objections raised by Daniel Hutto, who advocates for a radical enactivist explanation. The authors argue that their account holds crucial advantages over Hutto's alternative, addressing criticisms from his paper 'Getting Real About Pretense: A Radical Enactivist Proposal'.