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A Comparative Study of Embodied Sensory Perception in Merleau-Ponty and the Brain's Mirror Neurons;
A Case Study: Senga Nengudi's R.S.V.P Performance
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Seyedeh Marzie Hosseini   , Davoud Mirzaei * |
| Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran |
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Abstract: (266 Views) |
The works of certain artists specifically focus on enhancing awareness through bodily experience. This raises the questions: why and how do these works develop embodied experiences? Furthermore, can a connection be found between their embodiment and brain neurons in sensory perception? As a case study, the present article examines the reading of the body in the performance by Senga Nengudi (Project R.S.V.P). Employing a descriptive-analytical method with a comparative approach and relying on library sources, the article refers to two theories. First, the embodiment of sensory perceptual experience in the views of Merleau-Ponty. Second, the simulation of physical sensation in neuroscientific studies of the brain. According to the findings, the visual information of this performance influences the phenomenological content of the audience's bodily experiences; the audience is not merely an observer of the work, but their brain functions as if their own body is experiencing the performer's states. The audience's body encounters a physical sensation in the artistic experience, such that their sensory-neural system is pre-reflectively engaged with the movement of the work. Based on the analyses conducted, the tactile values of this performance are related to the function of the brain's mirror neurons and the physiological response of the body's muscles, and are connected to the issue of embodied sensory perception. Based on the research findings, there is a profound consistency and correlation between Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological perspective on the embodiment of perception and neuroscientific findings on mirror neurons. Both viewpoints emphasize that our perception of the world and others is rooted in our corporeality and bodily capacities. Therefore, mirror neurons can be considered the biological basis for concepts such as "intercorporeity," "pre-reflective intentionality," "the flesh of the world," and the "sensory Gestalt" from Merleau-Ponty's perspective. |
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| Keywords: Embodied Sensory Perception, Mirror Neurons, Intercorporeity, Pre-reflective Intentionality, The Flesh of the World, Sensory Gestalt, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Senga Nengudi |
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Full-Text [PDF 764 kb]
(222 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2025/11/7 | Accepted: 2025/12/23
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