Reading Minds

Abstract

Abstract The need to understand human social life is basic to human nature and fuels a lifelong quest that began in early childhood. Key is trying to fathom people’s inner mental states—their hopes, plans, wants, thoughts, and emotions. Scientists call this developing a “theory of mind,” and Reading Minds tells the story of our journey to that understanding. Each of us step by step creates a wide-ranging theory of mind used to understand how people work. Failure to learn these steps cripples a child, and ultimately an adult, in areas as diverse as interacting socially, creating a coherent life story, enjoying drama and movies, and living on one’s own. An understanding of these steps allows us to see our shared humanity, to understand our children and our childhood selves, to teach and to learn from others, and to better navigate and make sense of our social world. Theory of mind is basic to why some become religious believers and others atheists, some become novelists and all of us love stories, why some love scary movies and some hate them. Reading Minds shows how theory of mind develops as children and how that defines us as individuals and highlights us as human. Written by a scientist—himself a parent and a grandparent—who pioneered much of the research in this field, Reading Minds fuses insider science with everyday life to cement a whole new view of ourselves, our children, and the mysteries of our social minds.