Interpreting Minds

In this volume Radu J. Bogdan sets out to establish an evolutionary and practical view of interpretation.

According to Bogdan, the ability to interpret others' mental states has evolved under communal, political epistemic pressures to enable us to cope with the impact of other organisms on our own goals in the competition to survive.

Interpretation evolved among primates by natural and then cultural selection.

As an adaptation, it is a competence in the form of a battery of practical skills that serve the interpreter's interests in social interactions.

Evolutionary theory does not just deepen our understanding of interpretation; without it, we cannot understand what interpretation is and how it does its job.

This book raises many issues for philosophers of mind and culture; evolutionary, developmental and social psychologists; ethologists; cognitive and cultural anthropologists; evolutionary biologists; and others interested in cognitive development.