Western individualism has delayed scientific recognition of the essentially
social nature of consciousness – or at least of the human mind and brain.
Milestone publications (in ethology, primatology and cognitive science),
dealing with theory of mind, Machiavellian intelligence, the social brain
and mirror neurones, demonstrate that the origin of consciousness needs
to be understood in a social context. This is reinforced by classic theorists
in social psychology and cultural and social anthropology, like Dilthey,
Baldwin, Cooley, Mead and Goffman.
The contributors to this volume, including Chris Frith, Robert Turner,
Nalini Ambady, Corrado Sinigaglia, Chris Knight, Colwyn Trevarthen, Vasudevi
Reddy, Maya Gratier, Michael Apter, Joan Chiao and Andreas Roepstorff
, introduce some of these anthropological themes into consciousness studies.
