THEORYOF MIND

The ability to recognise that another human being has their own ideas and intentions, which may be distinct from one’s own; the ability to conceptualise those ideas and intentions.

The possession of a theory of mind is said to be a prerequisite for language. It underpins the use of deixis, and the recognition that words like THIS, HERE and ME are employed from the standpoint of the speaker, not that of the listener. It is critical to the way in which speakers and writers determine the knowledge which they share with the listener/reader and the knowledge which is not shared and has to be explained. It enables a speaker/writer to anticipate responses and thus to shape their productions in a way that persuades or manipulates feelings. In addition, it plays an important part in activities such as story telling, which oblige the hearers to understand the beliefs, motivations and reactions of the characters involved.

There is disagreement as to whether the possession of a theory of mind is specific to human beings. Monkeys and most primates appear to lack the capacity. They are sometimes good at interpreting behaviour, but do not show themselves capable of identifying with the mind behind the behaviour. With chimps, the situation is less clear.

 One reason that other species may not have developed this insight is that it appears to be costly in terms of the demands it makes upon brain capacity. Even human beings find it hard to conceptualise what is demanded by tasks which extend to the fifth order (A thinks that B thinks that A thinks that B thinks that A thinks the world is flat).

There are two main views as to how the theory of mind operates in human beings. One is that our understanding of other minds is part of a symbolic system, with certain rules of inference which enable us to understand the needs and feelings of others. This may or may not be innate. The other is that we use our own experience in order to simulate mentally what others think and feel.

Current evidence suggests that a theory of mind develops in infants between two and four years old. This poses a problem for accounts of language acquisition which rely heavily on the notion that children are driven to speak by a desire to communicate. They need to explain how the notion of communication can arise without the parallel notion of a mind distinct from one’s own to which information is to be imparted.

See also: Evolution of language, Social-interactionism

Further reading: Bloom (2000: Chap. 3); Garnham and Oakhill (1994: 336–9)

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