Interpersonal Understanding and Theory of Mind

329 Pages·2014·1.55 MB·English

by  Ylva Gustafsson

Ylva Gustafsson
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What does it mean to understand someone else? f
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Åbo Akademi University Press | ISBN 978-951-765-748-8
Nome Neskens (born1977)
- academic degree, year, university
- other qualifications in the research field, job experience, ..
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INTERPERSONAL UNDERSTANDING AND THEORY OF MIND

Interpersonal Understanding
and Theory of Mind
Ylva Gustafsson
Åbo Akademis förlag | Åbo Akademi University Press
Åbo, Finland, 2014
CIP Cataloguing in Publication
Gustafsson, Ylva.
Interpersonal understanding and
theory of mind / Ylva Gustafsson. -
Åbo : Åbo Akademi University Press,
2014.
Diss.: Åbo Akademi University.
ISBN 978-951-765-748-8
ISBN 978-951-765-748-8
ISBN 978-951-765-749-5 (digital)
Painosalama Oy
Åbo 2014
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................I
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1
Two theoretical orientations within theory of mind ............ 5
1. Emotivistic theory-of-mind theories ................................ 7
2. Rationalistic theory-of-mind theories ............................ 14
Some general theoretical problems with theory-of-mind
theories ............................................................................... 17
The relationship between theory-of-mind theories and
empirical research .............................................................. 25
Summaries of the chapters ................................................. 36
CHAPTER 1: RATIONALISTIC AND EMOTIVISTIC THEORIES OF
ALTRUISM ......................................................................................... 41
1.1 Introduction ................................................................. 41
1.2 Altruism as transaction ............................................... 43
1.3 Emotivistic conceptions of altruism ............................ 47
1.4 Sympathy, empathy and retributive emotions as
consisting of analogical imagination ................................. 53
1.5 Criticism of the argument from analogy ..................... 60
1.6 Cooperation: emotivistic conceptions of human social
life as instrumental ............................................................ 66
1.7 Transaction: a rationalistic conception of human social
life as instrumental ............................................................ 76
1.8 Conclusion ................................................................... 84
CHAPTER 2: THEORY OF MIND AND INFANTS’ IMITATION OF FACIAL
EXPRESSIONS .................................................................................... 88
2.1 Introduction ................................................................. 88
2.2 Empirical research on infants’ imitation of facial
expressions ......................................................................... 89
2.3 The influence from natural science on empirical
research methods ................................................................ 97
2.4 The influence from theory-of-mind theory on empirical
research methods .............................................................. 100
2.5 What do we mean by imitation .................................. 110
2.6 A dialogical perspective ............................................. 114
2.7 Mirror neurons .......................................................... 123
2.8 Sharing experiences ................................................... 128
2.9 Conclusion ................................................................. 138
CHAPTER 3: AUTISM AND THEORY OF MIND ............................... 141
3.1 Introduction ............................................................... 141
3.2 Autism as “mindblindness” ...................................... 143
3.3 Autism, pretend play and mindreading ..................... 154
3.4 Autism and the false belief task .................................. 170
3.5 Theory of mind and autistic children’s language
problems ........................................................................... 184
3.6 Theory of mind and autistic persons’ difficulties to
understand irony ............................................................. 194
3.7 Conclusion ................................................................. 202
CHAPTER 4: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMPATHIC
IMAGINATION AND COMPASSION ................................................ 203
4.1 Introduction ............................................................... 203
4.2 The relation between empathy and compassion ......... 206
4.3 Stotland’s experimental research on empathy ........... 210
4.4 Batson’s experimental research on empathy .............. 220
4.5 Cognitive conceptions of empathy and conceptual
confusion .......................................................................... 229
4.6 Imagination, involvement and responsibility ............ 236
4.7 Solipsism, body-mind dualism and experiences of
suffering ........................................................................... 247
4.8 Imagination as a lack of understanding .................... 264
4.9 Conclusion ................................................................. 275
CONCLUDING REMARKS ................................................................ 278
SWEDISH SUMMARY - SAMMANFATTNING ................................... 291
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................... 296