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Musil in a loop: the other condition and the extended mind

Elvira Di Bona, Stefano Ercolino

Rivista di Estetica March 6, 2020 DOI: 10.4000/estetica.5067 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Keywords Robert musil Other condition Extended mind Externalism Literature
Key points Proposes that Musil's 'other condition' can be productively read through the extended mind theory of Clark and Chalmers.

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a reading of Robert Musil’s controversial notion of the “other condition” in light of the basic features of the philosophical doctrine of externalism, as formulated in the classical account of the extended mind proposed by Andy Clark and David Chalmers (1998). Our reading is not meant to exhaust the complexity and polysemy of the idea of the other condition, but merely aims to open up a possible perspective on the interpretation of a concept that is as elusive as it is central in Musil’s thinking.