Self-knowledge and attribution of mental states in Theory of Mind

Article Sidebar

PDF (Spanish)
Published: May 10, 2011
DOI: https://doi.org/10.32348/1852.4206.v3.n1.5232
Keywords:
self-knowledge, self-attribution, theory theory, simulation theory, intentionality

Main Article Content

Liza Skidelsky
Universidad de Buenos Aires

Abstract

Many philosophers consider that self-knowledge reflects the particularity that we can know what we think, believe, desire, in a different way in which we know the mental states of other people. This is the claim of an asymmetry between first and third person. Several approaches han been offered in the epistemological literature in order to account for this asymmetry. Nonetheless, unlike the expected compatibility between adjacent fields, the literature related to the attribution and self-attribution of mental states or, in general, what is called Theory of Mind, does not seem either to preserve this asymmetry or the attempt to preserve it undermines the fundamental role of the different Theory of Mind proposals. This paper will show this in two parts. Firstly, it addresses how the asymmetry thesis han been defended in the epistemological literature. The aim of this section is to offer a geography of the different approaches. Secondly, two proposals in Theory of Mind, the theory theory and simulation theory, will be evaluated in order to show why they do not account for the asymmetry thesis, and some of the consequences that would be gather from the attempt to conciliate these Theory of Mind proposals with the epistemological approaches that defend the asymmetry thesis will be analized.

Article Details

How to Cite
Self-knowledge and attribution of mental states in Theory of Mind. (2011). Argentinean Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 3(1), 34-53. https://doi.org/10.32348/1852.4206.v3.n1.5232
Issue
Vol 3, No 1 (2011): Special Issue: "Intentionality and Conscience: Recent Approaches"
Section
Intencionalidad y Conciencia: Abordajes Recientes

La RACC aplicará la licencia internacional de atribuciones comunes creativas (Reconocimiento 4.0 Internacional: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Bajo esta licencia, se permite cualquier explotación de la obra, incluyendo la explotación con fines comerciales y la creación de obras derivadas, la distribución de las cuales también está permitida sin ninguna restricción. Esta licencia es una licencia libre según la Freedom Defined. La única condición es que siempre y en todos los casos se cite a los autores y a la fuente original de publicación (i.e., RACC). Esta licencia fue desarrollada para facilitar el acceso abierto, gratuito y libre a trabajos originales científicos y artísticos.

Author Biography

Liza Skidelsky, Universidad de Buenos Aires

Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

How to Cite

Self-knowledge and attribution of mental states in Theory of Mind. (2011). Argentinean Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 3(1), 34-53. https://doi.org/10.32348/1852.4206.v3.n1.5232

References

Armstrong, D. (1968). A materialist theory of the mind. London: Routledge.

Armstrong, D. (1981). The Nature of Mind and Other Essays. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Armstrong, D. (1999). The mind-body problem. Boulder, CO: Westview.

Bar-On, D. (2004). Speaking My Mind. Expressionism and Self-Knowledge. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Bar-On, D. & Long, D. (2001). Avowals and First Person Privilege. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 62, pp. 311-335.

Bermúdez, J. L. & Cahen, A. (2011). Nonconceptual mental content. In E. Zalta (Ed.) Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, (Spring 2011 Edition), recuperado en URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2011/entries/content-nonconceptual/>.

Bilgrami, A. (1998). Self-Knowledge and Resentment. En C. Wright, B. Smith & C. Macdonald (Eds.) Knowing Our Own Minds (pp. 107-142). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bilgrami, A. (2010). Other minds. En J. Dancy, E.Sosa & M. Steup (Eds.) A Companion to Epistemology (pp. 566-571). Oxford: Blackwell.

Brueckner, A. (2003). Two Transcendental Arguments Concerning Self-Knowledge. En S. Nuccetelli (Ed.) New Essays on Semantic Externalism and SelfKnowledge (pp. 185-200). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Carruthers, P. (1996a). Simulation and Self-Knowledge: A Defence of the Theory-Theory. En P. Carruthers & P. Smith (Eds.), Theories of Theories of Mind (pp. 22-38). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Carruthers, P. (1996b). Language, Thought and Consciousness. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

Carruthers, P. (1998). Conscious Thinking: Language or Elimination. Mind & Language, 13, 323-342. Reimpreso en P. Carruthers (2005). Consciousness: Essays from a Higher-Order Perspective. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Carruthers, P. (2002). The Cognitive Function of Language. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 25, 657-674.

Carruthers, P. (2009). Simulation and the First-Person. Philosophical Studies, 144, 467-475.

Carruthers, P. (2010). Introspection: Divided and Partly Eliminated. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 80, 76-111.

Churchland, P. M. (1988). Folk Psychology and the Explanation of Human Behavior. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 62, 209-21.

Chase, W. G., & Simon, H. A. (1973). Perception in chess. Cognitive Psychology, 4, 55-81.

Davies, M. & Stone, T. (1995). Introduction. En M. Davies & T. Stone (Eds.) Folk Psychology. The Theory of Mind Debate (pp. 1-44). Oxford: Blackwell.

De Groot, A. (1978). Thought and choice in chess. The Hague: Mouton Publishers, 2nd edition.

Descartes, R. (1641). Meditaciones Metafísicas. En E. de Olazo y T. Zwanck (Comps.) (1980). Obras escogidas. Buenos Aires: Editorial Charcas.

Dretske, F. (1994). Introspection. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 94, 263-278.

Evans, G. (1982). The Varieties of Reference. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Fodor. J. (1998). Do We Think in Mentalese: Remarks on Some Arguments of Peter Carruthers. En In Critical Condition. Polemical Essays on Cognitive Science and the Philosophy of Mind (pp. 63-74). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Fricker, E. (1998). Self-Knowledge: Special Access versus Artefact of Grammar-A Dichotomy Rejected. En C. Wright, B. Smith & C. Macdonald (Eds.), Knowing Our Own Minds (pp. 155-106) Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Gallagher, S. (2001). The practice of mind: Theory, simulation, or interaction? Journal of Consciousness Studies, 8, 83-107.

Gallagher, S. (2005). How the body shapes the mind. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Gertler, B. (2008). Self-Knowledge. En The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2008 Edition), E. N. Zalta (Ed.), recuperado en: URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2008/entries/selfknowledge/>.

Goldman, A. (1989). Interpretation Psychologized. Mind and Language, 4, 161–185. Reimpreso en in M. Davies & T. Stone (Eds.) (1995). Folk Psychology: The Theory of Mind Debate. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.

Goldman, A. (1992). Liaisons. Philosophy Meets Cognitive Science. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Goldman, A. (1993). The Psychology of Folk Psychology. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 16, 15-28. Reimpreso en A. Goldman (Ed.) Readings in Philosophy and Cognitive Science. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Goldman, A. (2000a). Folk Psychology and Mental Concepts. Protosociology, 14, 4-25.

Goldman, A. (2000b). The mentalizing folk. En D. Sperber (Ed.) Metarepresentations (pp. 171-196). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Goldman, A. (2006). Simulating Minds: The Philosophy Psychology, and Neuroscience of Mindreading. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Goldman, A. & Shanton, K. (en prensa). The case for simulation theory. En A. Leslie & T. German (Eds.), Handbook of ‘Theory of Mind’. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Gordon, R. M. (1986). Folk Psychology as Simulation. Mind and Language, 1, 158-171. Reimpreso en M. Davies & T. Stone (Eds.) (1995) Folk Psychology. The Theory of Mind Debate. Oxford: Blackwell.

Gordon, R. M. (1992). The simulation theory: Objections and misconceptions. Mind and Language 7, 11-34. Reimpreso en M. Davies & T. Stone (Eds.) (1995) Folk Psychology. The Theory of Mind Debate. Oxford: Blackwell.

Gordon, R. M. (1995). Simulation without Introspection or Inference From Me to You. En M. Davies & T. Stone (Eds.), Mental Simulation (pp. 53-67). Oxford: Blackwell.

Gordon, R. M. (1996). 'Radical' Simulationism. En P. Carruthers & P. Smith (Eds.) Theories of Theories of Mind (pp.11-21). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gordon, R. M. (2007). Ascent routines for propositional attitudes. Synthese, 159, 151-165.

Gordon, R. M. (2009). Folk Psychology as Mental Simulation. En E. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2009 Edition), recuperado en: URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2009/entries/folkpsych-simulation/>.

Gopnik, A. (1993). How we know our minds: The illusion of first-person knowledge of intentionality. Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 16, 1-14.

Gopnik, A. (1996). The scientist as child. Philosophy of Science, 63, 485-514.

Gopnik, A. & Wellman, H. (1994). The Theory Theory. En L. Hirschfield & S. Gelman (Eds.) Mapping the Mind: Domain Specificity in Cognition and Culture (pp. 257–93). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Gopnik, A. & Meltzoff A. (1997). Words, Thoughts and Theories. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Hutto, D. (2008). Folk-psychological narratives. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Leslie, A. (1987). Pretense and representation: The origins of "theory of mind". Psychological Review, 94, 412-426.

Leslie, A. (1994). Pretending and believing: Issues in the theory of ToMM. Cognition, 50, 211-238.

Leslie, A & German, T. (1995). Knowledge and ability in “theory of mind”: One-eyed overview of a debate. En M. Davies & T. Stone (Eds.), Mental Simulation (pp. 123-150). Oxford: Blackwell.

Levine, L. J., Prohaska, V., Burgess, S. L., Rice, J. A, & Laulhere, T. (2001). Remembering emotions: The role of current appraisals. Cognition and Emotion, 15, 393-417.

Lewis, D. (1972). Psychophysical and Theoretical Identifications. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 50, 249-58.

Lycan, W. (1987). Consciousness. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Lycan, W. (1996). Consciousness and Experience. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Machery, E. (2005). You Don?t Know How You Think: Introspection and Language of Thought. British Journal of Philosophy of Science, 56, 469-485.

Malcolm, N. (1954). Wittgenstein`s Philosophical Investigations. Philosophical Review, 53, 530-559.

Martin, M. (1998). An Eye Directed Outward. En C. Wright, B. Smith & C. Macdonald (Eds.) Knowing Our Own Minds (pp. 99-122). Oxford, Oxford University Press.

McFarland, C., & Ross, M. (1987). The relation between current impressions and memories of self and dating partners. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 13, 228-238.

Mill, J. S (1865). An Examination Of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy And Of The Principal Philosophical Questions Discussed In His Writings. Vol. 1. Boston: W. V. Spencer Publication.

Moran, R. (1997). Self-Knowledge: Discovery, Resolution, and Undoing. European Journal of Philosophy, 5, 141-161.

Nisbett, R. & Ross, L. (1980). Human Inference: Strategies and Shortcomings of Social Judgment. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Peacocke, C. (1998). Conscious Attitudes, Attention, and Self-Knowledge. En C. Wright, B. Smith & C. Macdonald (Eds.) Knowing Our Own Minds (pp. 63-98). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Prinz, J. (2002). Furnishing the Mind. Concepts and Their Perceptual Basis. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Pylyshyn, Z. (2002). Mental Imagery: In search of a theory. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 25, 157-182.

Ryle, G. (1949). The Concept of Mind. New York: Philosophical Library.

Schwitzgebel, E. (2010). Introspection. En E. Zalta (Ed.) The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2010 Edition), recuperado en: URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2010/entries/introspection/>.

Shanton, K. & Goldman, A. (2010). Simulation theory. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 1, 527-38.

Shoemaker, S. (1994). Self-Knowledge and „Inner Sense?. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 54, 249-314.

Shoemaker, S. (2010). Self-knowledge and self-identity. En J. Dancy, E.Sosa & M. Steup (Eds.) A Companion to Epistemology (pp. 724-726). Oxford: Blackwell.

Skidelsky, L. (2006). Personal-Subpersonal: The Problems of Inter-level Relations. Protosociology, Special Issue: Compositionality, Concepts and Representations II: New Problems in Cognitive Science, 22, 120-139.

Skidelsky, L. (2008a). Autoconocimiento: conexión constitutiva vs. logro cognitivo. En A. Gianella, M. C. González, y N. Stigol (Comps.) Pensamiento, representaciones, conciencia: Nuevas reflexiones (pp. 231-264). Buenos Aires: Alianza.

Skidelsky, L. (2008b). Filosofía de la Mente y Ciencia Cognitiva: la cuestión de cómo concebir y practicar sus relaciones. En D. Pérez y L. Fernández Moreno (Comps.) Cuestiones filosóficas (pp. 263-284). Buenos Aires: Catálogos.

Skidelsky, L. (2009). La versión débil de la hipótesis del pensamiento en lenguaje natural. Theoria 24, 83-104.

Stich, S. & Nichols, S. (1995). Folk Psychology: Simulation or Tacit Theory? En M. Davies & T. Stone (Eds.) Folk Psychology. The Theory of Mind Debate (pp. 123-158). Oxford: Blackwell.

Strawson, P. F. (1954). Critical Notice: Philosophical Investigations”, Mind, 63, 70-99.

Wittgenstein, L. (1980). Remarks On The Philosophy of Psychology. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Wittgenstein, L. (1988). Investigaciones filosóficas. México: UNAM.

Wright, C. (1989). Wittgenstein?s Later Philosophy of Mind: Sensation, Privacy, and Intention. Journal of Philosophy, 86, 622-634.

Wright, C. (1998). Self-Knowledge: The Wittgensteinian Legacy. En C. Wright, B. Smith & C. Macdonald (Eds.) Knowing Our Own Mind (pp. 13-46). Oxford: Clarendon Press.