It's interesting to consider mirror neurons, or, for that matter, any biological mechanics that enable mimicry or empathy, as part of a simulation function supporting language and meaning more broadly.
Phenomena that stand out as simulation on an individual, ontological level might include the "call to the void," dreams, nightmares, fears, aspirations, and other activities of the imagination. Whether they are emergent of the limbic functions or top-down executive orders from the prefrontal cortex is an interesting question and likely depends from case to case, but the fact that they could emerge from one place or another is an interesting thought in-itself.
And a true sense of meaning would seemingly only arise by the presence of the other. How do they perceive it? Do they perceive it at all? Are we anything at all without the other?
Indeed, mirror neurons and various forms of communication and collective activity would seemingly enable a kind of "simulating together", "group/population simulation", or, borrowing a term from the world of edge compute, "federated learning."
Now there's an interesting thought. Could a group in communication about a shared imagining, say, a dream or aspiration, be a "federated learning" event simulating toward a model of reality that makes such a vision reality?
No one understands dreams much yet, but I think it would be hard to imagine that a human simulation facility would not be active during dreams somehow. Of course, one of the interesting observations people have about dreams is that they are not particularly "linguistic", that is, language doesn't seem to work quite the same in dreams as it does in waking life.
Shared imagination -- not necessarily the numinous kind -- is absolutely an important feature of modern society. Any sufficiently abstract concept that is widely adopted could be considered a kind of shared imagination. We have concepts such as Nation or Religion or Science that bind us together in collective endeavors and, yes, give us a sense of meaning in community.
It's interesting to consider mirror neurons, or, for that matter, any biological mechanics that enable mimicry or empathy, as part of a simulation function supporting language and meaning more broadly.
Phenomena that stand out as simulation on an individual, ontological level might include the "call to the void," dreams, nightmares, fears, aspirations, and other activities of the imagination. Whether they are emergent of the limbic functions or top-down executive orders from the prefrontal cortex is an interesting question and likely depends from case to case, but the fact that they could emerge from one place or another is an interesting thought in-itself.
And a true sense of meaning would seemingly only arise by the presence of the other. How do they perceive it? Do they perceive it at all? Are we anything at all without the other?
Indeed, mirror neurons and various forms of communication and collective activity would seemingly enable a kind of "simulating together", "group/population simulation", or, borrowing a term from the world of edge compute, "federated learning."
Now there's an interesting thought. Could a group in communication about a shared imagining, say, a dream or aspiration, be a "federated learning" event simulating toward a model of reality that makes such a vision reality?
No one understands dreams much yet, but I think it would be hard to imagine that a human simulation facility would not be active during dreams somehow. Of course, one of the interesting observations people have about dreams is that they are not particularly "linguistic", that is, language doesn't seem to work quite the same in dreams as it does in waking life.
Shared imagination -- not necessarily the numinous kind -- is absolutely an important feature of modern society. Any sufficiently abstract concept that is widely adopted could be considered a kind of shared imagination. We have concepts such as Nation or Religion or Science that bind us together in collective endeavors and, yes, give us a sense of meaning in community.