11. First communions: Mimetic sharing without theory of mind
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Daniel D. Hutto
Abstract
It is widely held that the gradual development of metarepresentational Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities constituted at least one important hominid upgrade. Are such abilities really needed to explain hominid (i) tool-making, (ii) social cohesion, or even (iii) basic interpretative and language formation/learning capabilities? I propose an alternative explanation of what underlies these sophisticated capacities – the Mimetic Ability Hypothesis (MAH). MAH claims that a vastly increased capacity for recreative imagination best explains the kinds of sophisticated intersubjective engagements of which hominids would have been capable – and that these constituted an important basis for the development of complex language. This proposal puts the idea of the evolution of ToM devices under considerable strain.
How did humans bridge the tremendous gap between symbolic thought and the nonsymbolic forms of intelligence that still dominate the rest of the animal kingdom? Merlin Donald, Origins of the Modern Mind
Abstract
It is widely held that the gradual development of metarepresentational Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities constituted at least one important hominid upgrade. Are such abilities really needed to explain hominid (i) tool-making, (ii) social cohesion, or even (iii) basic interpretative and language formation/learning capabilities? I propose an alternative explanation of what underlies these sophisticated capacities – the Mimetic Ability Hypothesis (MAH). MAH claims that a vastly increased capacity for recreative imagination best explains the kinds of sophisticated intersubjective engagements of which hominids would have been capable – and that these constituted an important basis for the development of complex language. This proposal puts the idea of the evolution of ToM devices under considerable strain.
How did humans bridge the tremendous gap between symbolic thought and the nonsymbolic forms of intelligence that still dominate the rest of the animal kingdom? Merlin Donald, Origins of the Modern Mind
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword. Shared minds and the science of fiction: Why theories will differ vii
- 1. Intersubjectivity: What makes us human? 1
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Part I. Development
- 2. Understanding others through primary interaction and narrative practice 17
- 3. The neuroscience of social understanding 39
- 4. Engaging, sharing, knowing: Some lessons from research in autism 67
- 5. Coming to agreement: Object use by infants and adults 89
- 6. The role of intersubjectivity in the development of intentional communication 115
- 7. Sharing mental states: Causal and definitional issues in intersubjectivity 141
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Part II. Evolution
- 8. Evidence for intentional and referential communication in great apes? 165
- 9. The heterochronic origins of explicit reference 187
- 10. The co-evolution of intersubjectivity and bodily mimesis 215
- 11. First communions: Mimetic sharing without theory of mind 245
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Part III. Language
- 12. The central role of normativity in language and linguistics 279
- 13. Intersubjectivity in the architecture of language system 307
- 14. Intersubjectivity in interpreted interactions: The interpreter's role in co-constructing meaning 333
- 15. Language and the signifying object: From convention to imagination 357
- Author index 379
- Subject index 383
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword. Shared minds and the science of fiction: Why theories will differ vii
- 1. Intersubjectivity: What makes us human? 1
-
Part I. Development
- 2. Understanding others through primary interaction and narrative practice 17
- 3. The neuroscience of social understanding 39
- 4. Engaging, sharing, knowing: Some lessons from research in autism 67
- 5. Coming to agreement: Object use by infants and adults 89
- 6. The role of intersubjectivity in the development of intentional communication 115
- 7. Sharing mental states: Causal and definitional issues in intersubjectivity 141
-
Part II. Evolution
- 8. Evidence for intentional and referential communication in great apes? 165
- 9. The heterochronic origins of explicit reference 187
- 10. The co-evolution of intersubjectivity and bodily mimesis 215
- 11. First communions: Mimetic sharing without theory of mind 245
-
Part III. Language
- 12. The central role of normativity in language and linguistics 279
- 13. Intersubjectivity in the architecture of language system 307
- 14. Intersubjectivity in interpreted interactions: The interpreter's role in co-constructing meaning 333
- 15. Language and the signifying object: From convention to imagination 357
- Author index 379
- Subject index 383
