Abstract
I outline three conceptions of seeing that a creature might possess: “the headlamp conception,” which involves an understanding of the causal connections between gazing at an object, certain mental states, and behavior; “the stage lights conception,” which involves an understanding of the selective nature of visual attention; and seeing-as. I argue that infants and various nonhumans possess the headlamp conception. There is also evidence that chimpanzees and 3-year-old children have some grasp of seeing-as. However, due to a dearth of studies, there is no evidence that infants or nonhumans possess the stage lights conception of seeing. I outline the kinds of experiments that are needed, and what we stand to learn about the evolution and development of perspective taking.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 183-204 |
Number of pages | 22 |
Journal | Mind and Language |
Volume | 34 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2019 |
Keywords
- mindreading
- seeing
- the logical problem
- theory of mind
- visual perception
- visual perspective taking
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- Philosophy
- Linguistics and Language