Theoretical Psychology: A Cognitive Science Perspective by Chen Wei et al. represents an ambitious attempt to reconstruct psychological theory within the paradigm of cognitive science. Starting from the “theoretical crisis” in contemporary psychology, the book critiques knowledge fragmentation caused by “theoretical transparency” and emphasizes the necessity of integrating and refining existing theories. Focusing on interoception, the authors explain the mechanisms by which physiological signals transition into higher-level meaning-making in embodied cognition, clarifying the pivotal role of the body in constructing the sense of self and emotional experiences. This perspective is further applied to examine clinical issues such as eating disorders and autism spectrum disorder. Meanwhile, the book provides a critical yet balanced review of mirror neuron research, warning against reducing complex social cognition to a single neural mechanism while recognizing its continuing value for action understanding, imitation, and predictive processing. Ultimately, grounded in cultural and social contexts, the work advocates for bridging the divide between science and the humanities and constructing cross-level integrated theories, thereby offering a pathway for psychology to transcend its current state of fragmentation.

theoretical psychology, interoception, intersubjectivity, embodied cognition, reconstruction of meaning