Theories Of Mind

by tristero

The Science Times had an extremely interesting article about the minds of baboons this morning. However, there is a serious mistake towards the end of the article which even a layman can see:

Why did language, expressed in combinations of sounds, evolve in humans but not in baboons?

A possible key to the puzzle lies in what animal psychologists call theory of mind, the ability to infer what another animal does or does not know. Baboons seem to have a very feeble theory of mind. When they cross from one island to another, ever fearful of crocodiles, the adults will often go first, leaving the juveniles fretting at the water’s edge. However much the young baboons call, their mothers never come back to help, as if unable to divine their children’s predicament.

But people have a very strong ability to recognize the mental states of others…

It is far from clear why humans acquired a strong theory of mind faculty and baboons did not.

So, “people have a very strong ability to recognize the mental states of others,” do they?

That will certainly come as surprising news to anyone who read Digby’s post on the disgusting antics of Malkin, et al. Apparently, the only kind of mind Republicans can recognize or respect is the fictitious kind Bill Frist perceived in the ruined tissues that were once the brain of Terri Schiavo (which also reveals quite a lot about the kind of mind Republicans respect in a woman).

Now, if you read that article, you will notice something else of interest. Baboons engage in infanticide, which is distressingly similar to what Malkin is doing. But I want to make this crystal clear. I am not – repeat NOT – comparing Michelle Malkin to a wild baboon. After one takes the time to study them, it becomes quite apparent that baboons do have many redeeming qualities.

For one thing, baboons actually can think.

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Special Note For Righwingers And Others Who Have Difficulty Understanding English: It may occur to you that I am implying that Malkin is neither a baboon OR human. And that this is the kind of eliminationist rhetoric the right deploys and which helps no one. No. This post is merely a critique of the science.

I fully accept that Malkin is human even if she is behaving. in the metaphorical sense, in an inhuman fasion. While normals – ie, liberals, moderates, and others who are not Republicans – certainly have some empathic skills, even we are not that sophisticated when it comes to composing theories of mind. Need proof? A simple thought experiment will make this quite clear:

Can YOU possibly imagine what Michelle Malkin is thinking that causes her to behave like that?

Neither can I. Our ability to infer mentation is clearly quite limited, at least when it comes to extremely altered states, like modern Republicanism. Therefore, we must conclude that she, like us, is indeed human (that doesn’t mean she’s a fine specimen of humanity, of course) and that the scientists here are just plain wrong. When it comes to the so-called “theories of mind,” humans, even normals, are at least as bad at it as baboons.