Hanne De Jaegher

Papers

Total Citations

167

H-Index

About

Hanne De Jaegher is a leading philosopher and cognitive scientist whose work fundamentally challenges how we understand social cognition. Her research lies at the intersection of enactive cognitive science, phenomenology, and dynamical systems theory, with a central focus on the role of embodied interaction in shaping human understanding. De Jaegher is best known for developing the concept of **participatory sense-making**, which argues that meaning and understanding are not merely processed inside individual brains but are co-created through dynamic, real-time interactions between people. This framework, detailed in her highly influential 2008 paper *"Making Sense in Participation"* (83 citations), offers a radical alternative to traditional, individualistic models of social cognition. She further advanced this perspective with the **Interactive Brain Hypothesis (IBH)** in a 2016 dialogue (84 citations), proposing that social neuroscience must study interactions, not just isolated brains, to truly understand social phenomena. Her work has been profoundly impactful, bridging philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience, and inspiring new research into autism, psychopathology, and human development. A key figure in the 4E (Embodied, Embedded, Enactive, Extended) cognition movement, De Jaegher’s contributions continue to reshape how we think about the very nature of social life.