Animal Mind, Human Mind: George H. Mead, Animality and the Evolution of Embodied Cognition (2007)
Booth, Kelvin Jay (Author)
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Alexander, Thomas M.
Edition Details: Advisor: Alexander, Thomas M.
Physical Details: 313 pp.
Language: English
Two dichotomies interfere with understanding the evolutionary relationship between humans and other animals. One is between behaviorism and mentalism in the study of animals. The other is between continuity theories and discontinuity theories concerning human origins from our ape-like ancestors. Three things are required to overcome these dichotomies. The first is a rich non-anthropomorphic understanding of animality--of what it is to be an animal. The second is the idea of "mimesis," which includes our desire for and ability imitation, repetition and perspective sharing. This is a distinctive feature of human animality, but it is continuous with primate animality. The third is George Herbert Mead's idea of taking the "role" of the other. Taking the role of the other grows out of mimesis. Mead provides the link between our mimetic animality and our fully developed humanness. This dissertation advances a three-part thesis: First, a rich view of animality is developed by combining a theory of the organism with recent work on embodied cognition and embodied experience. This view can account for all aspects of ape cognition and behavior, without having to suppose apes can take the position of the other, or that they have a "theory of mind." Second, evidence shows that the mimetic abilities of imitation and perspective sharing are characteristic of humans and not apes. Minetic abilities evolved out of primate animality with the Acheulian toolmakers, in a transitional evolutionary phase of what Merlin Donald calls "mimetic culture." Third, mimesis is the basis for the human ability to take the position of the other, and thus of other distinctly human cognitive abilities Mead is correct in claiming that taking the position of the other is fundamental to self-consciousness and language, and thus is fundamental to being human. Chapter 1 works through some problems of behaviorism and cognitivism. It shows how Mead's behavioral psychology avoids the problems of behaviorism and it provides an alternative to cognitivism. Chapter 2 works toward a theory of animality based on pre-objective experience and the general traits of biological organization. Chapter 3 examines primate social cognition. It introduces Mead's idea of the conversation of gestures and Barbara King's notion of a social dance. It also critically reviews research on ape language and claims that apes have a "theory of mind." Chapter 4 proposes "mimesis" as the basis upon which we are able to take the role of the other, and thereby develop selves, symbols and language. Evidence is found in early child development. Chapter 5 puts mimesis and taking the position of the other into an evolutionary context, overcoming the continuity-discontinuity dichotomy.
...MoreDescription Cited in Diss. Abstr. Int. A 69/06 (2008). Pub. no. AAT 3310990.
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