거울 뉴런과 문학 1: 쿳시의 『야만인을 기다리며』에 나타난 자의식적 서사의 신경 윤리학

This essay attempts to determine neuro-ethical implications of the self-conscious narrative in J. M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians, on the basis of research on “mirror neurons.” Results show that the activation of mirror neurons in the human brain enables us to read others’ actions and intentions, thereby helping us to develop a “theory of minds” of others. In particular, V. S. Ramachandran has speculated that these “mind-reading” neurons could provide the basis and the rudiments for self-awareness and other-awareness. With regard to neuroethics, this concept of the two (“turning inward” and “turning outward”) aspects of the self implies that we have a neural mechanism that makes empathic concern for others very natural. From the socio-cognitive neuroscience perspective, the self can also be understood as resulting from “interactive social processes that are memorised and constantly evaluated” (Kollek 79), whereas identity can be considered to be consisting of “a self-narrative that integrates one’s past events into a coherent story” (Polkinghorne 107). In this sense, the self-conscious narrative of Waiting for the Barbarians can be interpreted as the process of establishing the identity of the magistrate, who is the narrator of this novel, and thus sympathizing with others and developing the ethical relationships with them.