Publications
Publication details [#48111]
Hobson, R. Peter and Jessica A. Hobson. 2008. Engaging, sharing, knowing: Some lessons from research in autism. In Sinha, Chris, Esa Itkonen, Jordan Zlatev and Timothy P. Racine, eds. The Shared Mind. Perspectives on intersubjectivity. (Converging Evidence in Language and Communication Research 12). John Benjamins. pp. 67–88.
Publication type
Article in book
Publication language
English
Keywords
Place, Publisher
John Benjamins
Annotation
This paper considers how intersubjective co-ordination is integral to human forms of interpersonal engagement, sharing experiences with others, and acquiring knowledge about persons with minds. It dwells on three studies involving children and adolescents with autism, each concerned with different aspects of non-verbal communication in greetings and farewells, conversation, and imitation, respectively. Other researchers’ reactions to these studies illustrate how scientists tend to be sceptical of measures (however reliable) intended to capture the intersubjective dimension of personal relatedness. On a more theoretical note, it is suggested that intersubjectivity acquires the structure that it does, and has the developmental implications that it does, in virtue of human beings’ propensity to identify with others’ attitudes.