A Phenomenological Critique On The Direct Perception Theory

For a long time,in the study of the mind reading problem in social cognition,there are two dominant theories that one is the Theory-Theory and the other is the Simulation Theory.The former(TT)argues that people always have a sort of theory that could explain and predict the others mind in advance,and then when people proceed with the mind reading,they could apply that theory to understand and grasp the others mind.The latter thinks that we always through pretending or simulating others behaviors and imaging what the state of our own mind is in that situation understand and grasp others mind.Recently,there is a new proposal from some scholars who have some phenomenological background that thinks we always understand and grasp others mind in a direct way without any mediate method or inference.It could be named the Direct Perception Theory(DT).My aim is to rephrase and reconstruct the DT compared with the two traditional theories in the first chapter.And then I will lead my discussion to the phenomenology in order to take a perspective from the phenomenology to evaluate the DT.I will take a text analysis for the “fifth meditation” in Husserl's Cartesian Meditations due to its content is concentrated on the intersubjectiveity,which is related to the mind reading problem closely.The elaboration of the text would be proceeding and related themes would also be considered and explicated.Some key concept in the text e.g.the sphere of ownness,body,ego,the others will be investigated in detail.That is the task of the second chapter.Finally,I will provide some suggestions and evaluations of the DT from the point of view of phenomenology,and point out the misled arguments and attitude in the study of the social cognition.According the series of analysis and exposition,a synthetic understanding of the mind reading problem would be presented and achieved.