Inside Someone Else’s Head

I want to talk about what’s going on in there. Other people. Not you. What you think they’re thinking.

Isn’t that just about the main thing we talk about these days? People aren’t behaving the way I do. How come? What are they thinking?

How can people look out at the same world and take in the same information that I do and come up with completely different interpretations and ways of behaving?

The whole idea that other people have something going on in there (mental states), kind of like we do, is something we gradually figure out. We don’t come out intuitively understanding this — it is an ability that develops.

It seems to develop differently in different cultures. Social environments around the world today shape how we look at our own and others’ inner experience. The cultures of earlier humans also must have influenced how we looked at each other in ways that would seem like a science fiction novel to us now.

In fact, there is a fully developed theory by the former Princeton psychologist Julian Jaynes that until the end of the Bronze Age, about 3500 years ago, we didn’t even think that presence inside of us was Us. We thought it was God. Or, The Gods.

Jaynes’ famous book, first published in 1976, has the cool title, ‘The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.’ He bases his claim on a close reading the epic works of that time, like ‘The Iliad’ and ‘The Odyssey’ and it’s very convincing.

Now, the term ‘Theory of Mind’ is used to refer to the aspect of Consciousness Jaynes focuses on, as Scott Alexander points out in a recent book review. ‘Theory of Mind’ is a level of conceptual understanding of ourselves and others. ‘Theory of Mind’ is an ability, a skill. That’s a funny name for a skill.

Unfortunately I can’t link to the review because Scott Alexander has shut down his popular and influential blog, which he publishes under a pseudonym. The ‘New York Times’ has said that it will reveal his true identity (doxx him) in an up-coming article.

His response is to shut down. The link explains his reasons in depth. Before you read it: What inferences do you make about his behavior?