Musil in a Loop: The Other Condition and the Extended Mind

In this paper, we propose a reading of Robert Musil’s controversial notion of the “other condition” in light of the basic features of the philosophical doctrine of externalism, as formulated in the classical account of the extended mind proposed by Andy Clark and David Chalmers (1998). Our reading is not meant to exhaust the complexity and polysemy of the idea of the other condition, but merely aims to open up a possible perspective on the interpretation of a concept that is as elusive as it is central in Musil’s thinking.

In this paper, we propose a reading of Robert Musil’s controversial notion of the “other condition” in light of the basic features of the philosophical doctrine of externalism, as formulated in the classical account of the extended mind proposed by Andy Clark and David Chalmers (1998). Our reading is not meant to exhaust the complexity and polysemy of the idea of the other condition; it merely aims to open up a possible perspective on the interpretation of a concept that is as elusive as it is central in Musil’s thinking.