Fragility of the Self and Vulnerability of Masses in the Onlife Ecosystem. An Interdisciplinary Perspective between Embodied Cognition, Extended Mind, and Educational Practices

Abstract

This paper offers an interdisciplinary theoretical reflection on the relationship between fragility of the self and vulnerability of masses in the current context of social disintegration, taking contemporary crowd disasters as a reference. The analysis adopts a bio-psycho-social perspective, integrating cognitive science, philosophy of mind, sociology, and pedagogy to interpret these phenomena as emerging outcomes of complex cognitive and technological ecosystems rather than individual deficits. Within this framework, fragility of the self is reinterpreted in relation to processes of disembodiment and attentional fragmentation, while collective vulnerability is linked to the crisis of community and the externalization of decision-making processes. The paper concludes by outlining possible reconfigurations of educational practices in an embodied, relational, and inclusive perspective.