PPIG: Philosophy, Psychology, and Informatics Group
Speaker: Joulia Smortchkova (University of Oxford)
Title: The limits of minimal mindreading: modularity and representational format
Abstract: In order to explain the developmental puzzle of why infants fail to pass the verbal version of the false belief task while succeeding at the non-verbal version of the same task, Apperly and Butterfill (2009) have suggested that humans are endowed with two systems for mindreading: an inflexible and modular system tracking mental states without conceptualizing them as such, and a flexible, central and conceptual system for tracking mental states as such. Why is the minimal mindreading system limited, in their view? They suggest that it is because of the system's modularity (Apperly, 2011) and because of its representational format (Butterfill and Apperly, 2009). The appeal to modularity has been challenged by Westra (forth.), but the appeal to representational format has received less attention. In my presentation, I show that both these suggestions face problems and that these problems should lead us to reconceive of minimal mindreading as a set of subsystems rather than as a unified module.
Further information
We are a group of researchers from diverse backgrounds in the above-mentioned groups (and beyond) who aim to gain an interdisciplinary yet deep understanding of the threads that bind the human mind and the world. In particular, this seminar series focuses on the nature of cognition, metacognition and social cognition. We’ll be tackling questions such as, what does it mean to think? What does it mean to think about thinking? And, what does it mean to think about one’s own thinking versus thinking about the thinking of other people? Please come along!
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Contact details
PPIG: Philosophy, Psychology, and Informatics Group
Room 1.17, Dugald Stewart Building, 3 Charles Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AD