Kristin Andrews

Research

My book Do Apes Read Minds: Toward a New Folk Psychology was published by MIT this summer. You can order your very own copy here or here.

In the book I argue for an empirically adequate theory of folk psychology (the commonsense understanding of other minds) that does not reduce our understanding of other people to our understanding of other people’s beliefs and desires. On my view, one can be a folk psychologist to some degree, based on how well you engage in folk psychological practices such as prediction and explanation. The account is pluralistic, since the different practices (and the same practices in different circumstances) involve different cognitive mechanisms.

This account has implications for the evolution of social cognition, and research on infant and ape theory of mind. I argue that it is more likely that the ability to attribute beliefs and desires evolved from an understanding of the moral norms of society, than from a competitive need to know what others would do next. Competitive predictions could largely be made without attributing mental states. But the drive to explain behavior that violates a cultural norm will lead to an understanding of beliefs and desires. I also argue that there are methodological consequences for how best to study Theory of Mind in humans and chimpanzees.

I am currently writing a book tentatively titled The Minds of Critters, to be published by Routledge, which looks at areas in which philosophy of mind and animal cognition research can jointly inform one another.

Affiliated research groups, NGO's, and societies

Comparative Cognition in Context

An Ontario research group I initiated with Anne Russon.  We focus on examining the methodologies of studying animal cognition in ecologically valid environments. 

Borneo Orangutan Society Canada

I am an executive director for this registered charity dedicated to the preservation of wild orangutan populations.

Borneo Orangutan Survival - Samboja Lestari

Rehabilitating orangutans for eventual release into the wild; supports cognition research.

Milton and Ethel Harris Research Initiative

York University initiative led by Stuart Shanker to study the emotional development of normally developing children, children with autism, and chimpanzees.

Society for Philosophy and Psychology

Since 1974, the SPP has been integrating philosophical and empirical research on the nature of mind.  The 2007 conference was held at York University, June 14-17.

Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology

Founded in 1904, the SSPP encourages the exchange of ideas between working philosophers and psychologists.