(Routledge Focus on Philosophy) 1st Edition
by Shannon Spaulding (Author)
In our everyday social
interactions, we try to make sense of what people are thinking, why they
act as they do, and what they are likely to do next. This process is
called mindreading. Mindreading, Shannon Spaulding argues in this book,
is central to our ability to understand and interact with others.
Philosophers and cognitive scientists have converged on the idea that
mindreading involves theorizing about and simulating others’ mental
states. She argues that this view of mindreading is limiting and
outdated. Most contemporary views of mindreading vastly underrepresent
the diversity and complexity of mindreading. She articulates a new
theory of mindreading that takes into account cutting edge philosophical
and empirical research on in-group/out-group dynamics, social biases,
and how our goals and the situational context influence how we interpret
others’ behavior.
Spaulding's resulting theory of
mindreading provides a more accurate, comprehensive, and perhaps
pessimistic view of our abilities to understand others, with important
epistemological and ethical implications. Deciding who is trustworthy,
knowledgeable, and competent are epistemically and ethically fraught
judgments: her new theory of mindreading sheds light on how these
judgments are made and the conditions under which they are unreliable.
This
book will be of great interest to students of philosophy of psychology,
philosophy of mind, applied epistemology, cognitive science and moral
psychology, as well as those interested in conceptual issues in
psychology.
