Rethinking Integration of Epistemic Strategies in Social Understanding: Examining the Central Role of Mindreading in Pluralist Accounts

Abstract

In recent years, theories of social understanding have moved away from arguing that just one epistemic strategy, such as theory-based inference or simulation constitutes our ability of social understanding. Empirical observations speak against any monistic view and have given rise to pluralistic accounts arguing that humans rely on a large variety of epistemic strategies in social understanding. We agree with this promising pluralist approach, but highlight two open questions: what is the residual role of mindreading, i.e. the indirect attribution of mental states to others within this framework, and how do different strategies of social understanding relate to each other? In a first step, we aim to clarify the arguments that might be considered in evaluating the role that epistemic strategies play in a pluralistic framework. On this basis, we argue that mindreading constitutes a core epiststrategy in human social life that opens new central spheres of social understanding. In a second step, we provide an account of the relation between different epistemic strategies which integrates and demarks the important role of mindreading for social understanding.

La forza delle comunità locali

“…È il soggetto che costruisce la realtà sociale, e il proprio significato identitario in essa, assieme agli altri individui. L'attenzione si sposta sui processi conversazionali di condivisione, nei quali non ha più senso distinguere tra identità personale e identità sociale: l'identità è situata nel singolo, ma si forma nei processi sociali (Wittgenstein 1953;Berger e Luckmann 1966). Il maggior limite di questo importante approccio sta nel preservare l'idea di un soggetto già formato che esplora il mondo, interagendo con altri soggetti dati, per identificarsi e per identificarli.…”

Coordinating Behaviors: Is social interaction scripted?

“…Newer accounts of social cognition have taken scripts into consideration but have yet to emphasize the central role scripts play. Newer accounts have mostly either emphasized a pluralistic understanding of social cognition (e.g., Coninx & Newen, 2018; Maibom, 2007; Wolf et al., 2021) or an understanding that still emphasizes mindreading (e.g., Spaulding, 2018). The primary objective of this paper is to show that scripts are the fundamental tool to explain coordinated behaviors in social interactions.…”