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    Carmelics

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    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
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    Perspectives
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    42
    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Humans understand the mental states of others by using their own mental systems to simulate the thoughts and decisions of those others.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
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    • 1.Folk psychological understanding of others proceeds primarily via inference to theoretical generalizations about behavior, not simulation (Fodor, 1987).
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If simulation were the primary mechanism, we would expect systematic failures when simulating radically different minds, yet theory-like generalizations succeed cross-culturally.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Simulation theory presupposes we already know which mental states to feed as inputs, requiring prior theoretical knowledge of others' minds (Stich & Nichols, 1992).
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.This bootstrapping problem entails that simulation is derivative of, not prior to, theoretical understanding of mental state categories.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.We have a capacity to run our own inferential and decision-making systems offline.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Running these systems offline allows us to model or simulate another person's reasoning.
      ?

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