An Interdisciplinary Perspective on Music, Rhythm, and Social Communication in the Digital Age: From Phenomenology to Embodied Cognition
Justyna Herda
Roczniki Filozoficzne September 30, 2026 DOI: 10.18290/rf26743.8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that music and rhythmic synchronization act as a natural mechanism for integrating individuals into groups, potentially serving as a neurobiological regulator of co-presence and social bonding. Proposes that shared rhythmic activities could help restore community and counteract isolation caused by increasing digitization of social communication. |
Abstract
The aim of this article is to present an interdisciplinary approach to the relationship between music, rhythm, and embodied cognition, and to outline the role of rhythmic synchronization as a factor regulating the formation of social bonds in the contemporary world, saturated with new technologies. This proposed framework integrates three research perspectives—neuroscientific, phenomenological, and sociocultural—to develop a model in which music and rhythmic activities become tools for restoring community in society, thereby counteracting the isolation caused by the increasing digitization of social communication. Shared rhythmic activities integrate movement, attention, emotions, and social relationships, constituting a natural mechanism for integrating individuals into groups. Collective music-making may therefore serve as a neurobiological regulator of co-presence and social bonding. The theoretical framework underpinning the considerations presented in this article is defined by a phenomenological approach on the one hand and the theory of embodied cognition on the other, as well as by the neurocognitive foundations of social cognition theory. The phenomenological approach assumes that meaning and cognition are grounded in first-person embodied experience. Accordingly, the explanations formulated within this framework do not appeal to mental representations and their abstract processing, but rather to direct cognition arising through the experiences and actions of embodied agents in the world.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
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| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |