Hierarchically Minded: Levels of Intentionality and Mind Reading

Abstract

In "The Human Story: A New History of Mankind's Evolution" (2004) the evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar speculates on the development of some mental abilities exclusive to humans as they evolved from pre-human species. His account somewhat limits the role of language, and the main emphasis falls on another phenomenon associated to humanization: the development of so-called Theory of Mind, a term current in contemporary evolutionary psychology which covers some of the ground of what is called intersubjectivity in phenomenological philosophical traditions. In this paper I will argue that the theory of Theory of Mind needs further refining, and further dialogue with relevant disciplines of the humanities, in order to take into account the complex semiotics of human experience and communication.

Keywords: Evolutionary psychology, Cognition, Theory of mind, Intersubjectivity, Symbolism, Phenomenology, Intentionality