Interpreting minds : the evolution of a practice

Bibliographic Information

Interpreting minds : the evolution of a practice

Radu J. Bogdan

(Bradford book)

MIT Press, 1997

  • : pbk.

Available at  / 31 libraries

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Note

Bibliography: p. [283]-299

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

ISBN 9780262024198

Description

Unlike most current researchers in philosophy and psychology, who view interpretation as a way to understand the minds and behavior of others, Radu J. Bogdan sets out to establish a new evolutionary and practical view of interpretation. According to Bogdan, the ability to interpret others' mental states has evolved under communal, political, and epistemic pressures to enable us to cope with the impact of other organisms on our own goals in the competition to survive. Interpretation evolved among primates by natural and then cultural selection. As an adaptation, it is a competence in the form of a battery of practical skills that serve the interpreter's interests in social interactions. Evolutionary theory does not just deepen our understanding of interpretation; without it, we cannot understand what interpretation is and how it does its job. Interpreting Minds raises many thought-provoking issues for philosophers of mind and culture; evolutionary, developmental, and social psychologists; ethologists; cognitive and cultural anthropologists; evolutionary biologists; and others interested in cognitive development.

Table of Contents

  • The project. Part I The case for evolution: a selected competence
  • why evolution matters. Part II Instinctive practice: situated interpretation
  • practical design
  • the big little step. Part III Reflective practice
  • time for thought and culture
  • reconstruction
  • adding up.
Volume

: pbk. ISBN 9780262524179

Description

Unlike most current researchers in philosophy and psychology, who view interpretation as a way to understand the minds and behavior of others, Radu J. Bogdan sets out to establish a new evolutionary and practical view of interpretation. According to Bogdan, the ability to interpret others' mental states has evolved under communal, political, and epistemic pressures to enable us to cope with the impact of other organisms on our own goals in the competition to survive. Interpretation evolved among primates by natural and then cultural selection. As an adaptation, it is a competence in the form of a battery of practical skills that serve the interpreter's interests in social interactions. Evolutionary theory does not just deepen our understanding of interpretation; without it, we cannot understand what interpretation is and how it does its job. Interpreting Minds raises many thought-provoking issues for philosophers of mind and culture; evolutionary, developmental, and social psychologists; ethologists; cognitive and cultural anthropologists; evolutionary biologists; and others interested in cognitive development.

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Details

  • NCID
    BA31122061
  • ISBN
    • 0262024195
    • 0262524171
  • LCCN
    96045207
  • Country Code
    us
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    Cambridge, Mass.
  • Pages/Volumes
    xii, 304 p.
  • Size
    24 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
  • Parent Bibliography ID
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