Interpreting Minds

In this original and provocative book, Bogdan proposes that the ability to interpret others' mental states should be viewed as an evolutionary adaptation.

Booknews

Bogdan (philosophy and cognitive studies, Tulane U.) adds an evolutionary dimension to the perspectives on interpreting the mental states of others. He argues that the ability has developed under communal, political, and epistemic pressure to enable humans to cope with the impact of other organisms on our own goals in the competition for survival. He describes the natural selection among primates and the cultural selection of humans. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Radu J. Bogdan is Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science and Director of the Cognitive Studies Program at Tulane University and Visiting Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey. He is the author of Interpreting Minds (1997), Minding Minds: Evolving a Reflexive Mind by Interpreting Others (2000), and Predicative Minds: The Social Ontogeny of Propositional Thinking (2009), all published by the MIT Press.