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Rethinking Commonsense Psychology A Critique of Folk Psychology, Theory of Mind and Simulation Matthew Ratcliffe Rethinking Commonsense Psychology This page intentionally left blank Rethinking Commonsense Psychology A Critique of Folk Psychology, Theory of Mind and Simulation Matthew Ratcliffe © Matthew Ratcliffe 2007 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2007 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN-13: 978-0-230-00710-9 ISBN-10: 0-230-00710-4 hardback hardback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ratcliffe, Matthew, 1973Rethinking commonsense psychology: a critique of folk psychology, theory of mind, and simulation/Matthew Ratcliffe. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-230-00710-9 ISBN-10: 0-230-00710-4 1. Psychology–Philosophy. 2. Ethnopsychology. 3. Philosophy of mind. 4. Cognitive science. I. Title. BF38.R338 2007 150.1–dc22 2006049328 10 16 9 15 8 14 7 13 6 12 5 11 4 10 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne 3 09 2 08 1 07 This book is dedicated to Huxley and Lilu, who don’t believe very much at all and desire only food and sleep. They provided me with much needed support whilst I was writing the book, by sitting on my lap and purring. This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface 1 2 3 4 5 ix Commonsense Psychology, Theory of Mind and Simulation 1 Belief-desire psychology 3 Theory or simulation? 8 Development and evolution 16 A place to start 20 Where is the Commonsense in Commonsense Psychology? 27 Natural born dualists? 29 Commonsense as taken-for-granted reality 36 The origins of ‘folk psychology’ 42 What do the folk have to say? 46 Science and folk psychology 52 The World We Live in 58 The commonsense world 59 Heidegger’s world 62 Heidegger on other people 70 Gurwitsch on situations and roles 74 Encountering others 78 Letting the World Do the Work 85 Norms, roles and functions 86 Situations are reasons 96 The development of social ability 98