Abstract

John Campbell recommends a relational view on joint attention. In this paper, I ask what his position implies for the perceptual experience of jointly engaged persons, and suggest that this experience can be accounted for by taking seriously the notion of intersubjectivity. I provide an account of what I call the 'direct acquaintance' of jointly engaged persons with one another. To be so acquainted is to enjoy an experience of feelings that are shared in a particular way. I spell out what it is for feelings to be so shared and end by briefly introducing the idea that the subjects of such feelings may be best understood as part of a system that also consists of aspects of their natural and social environment.