Thinking about minds across cultures. Is folk psychology universal?

We think of people as having various mental states -  beliefs, desires, emotions, pains, and so on – which cause them to act in characteristic ways. Philosophers often refer to this lay understanding of minds as “folk psychology”. This workshop considers whether all people in all times and places have thought about minds similarly, or whether ideas about minds have varied radically. Is folk psychology universal, or variable? At this workshop psychologist Charlie Lewis will talk about research he is conducting looking at how children in Pakistan understand minds, and historian Rhodri Hayward will talk about changing understandings of the relations between psychological states and illness.

2-2.20 Dr Rachel Cooper (Philosophy, Lancaster) – Welcome and Introduction

2.20-3.10 Prof Charlie Lewis (Psychology, Lancaster) – 'What happens if mother-child language does not mention the mind? The case example of Pakistan'. 

3.10- 3.30 coffee

3.30- 4.20 Dr Rhodri Hayward (History, Queen Mary, University of London) "Is it your back or is it your Mum? Thinking about illness in modern primary care."

4.20-5 General discussion