Mental Simulation

Many philosophers and psychologists argue that out everyday ability to predict and explain the actions and mental states of others is grounded in out possession of a primitive 'folk' psychological theory. Recently however, this theory has come under challenge from the simulation alternative. This alternative view says that human beings are able to predict and explain each other's actions by using the resources of their own minds to simulate the psychological aetiology of the actions of the others. This book and the companion volume Folk Psychology: The Theory of Mind Debate together offer a richly woven fabric of philosophical and psychological theory, which promises to yield real insights into the nature of our mental lives.

List of contributors vii Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 Tony Stone and Martin Davies 1. Simulation and Psychological Concepts 19  Gary Fuller 2. How to Think about Thinking 33            Jane Heal 3. Simulation Without Introspection of Interference from Me to You 53 Robert M. Gordon 53      4. Theories of the Mind in Collision: Plausibility and Authority 68 Norman H. Freeman 5. Second Thoughts on Simulation 87 Stephen Stich and Shaun Nichols 6. A Theory of the Child's Theory of Mind 109 Jerry A. Foder 7. Knowledge and Ability in"Theory of Mind": One-eyed Overview of a Debate 123             Alan M. Leslie and Tim P. German 8. Imagination and Simulation: Aesthetics Meets Cognitive Science 151   Gregory Currie 9. Imagining and Pretending 170 Paul L. Harris 10. Empathy, Mind, and Morals 185 Alvin I. Goldman 11. Self-knowledge, Error and Disorder 209 Derek Bolton 12. Game Theory and Knowledge by Simulation 235 Adam Morton 13. Simulative Reasoning, Common-sense Psychology, and Artificial Intelligence 247 John A. Barnden Author Index 273 Subject Index 279