Are we born with the ability to share another's mind?
In short: Human connection might be a biological blueprint rather than just a learned skill. From preverbal infants syncing with parents to the way we navigate social reality, our capacity to share feelings and understandings suggests we are born with an innate ability to coordinate actions and decode the intentions of others.
Intersubjectivity describes the capacity to share feelings and understandings, forming the bedrock of interpersonal communication. While the term emerged in social science around 1900, its philosophical lineage is deep, tracing back to Edmund Husserl’s early 20th-century phenomenology and later influencing psychoanalysis and linguistics. In 1970, Jürgen Habermas used the concept to argue that infants possess 'dialogue-constitutive universals'—an innate ability to decode and influence others' intentions even before they speak.
This innate capacity is supported by research into preverbal infants. Colwyn Trevarthen observed eight-week-olds engaging in face-to-face 'conversations' with their mothers, suggesting humans are born with a biological wiring to coordinate actions with others. This synchronization facilitates cognitive and emotional learning through social interaction, where children and adults actively define a shared culture in a bidirectional process.
Modern psychology offers three primary theories on how this works. 'Theory theory' suggests we use folk psychological theories to infer mental states from behavior. 'Simulation theory' proposes we use our own minds as models, 'putting ourselves in another's shoes' to imagine their internal states. Finally, 'interaction theory' shifts the focus toward participatory aspects, defining intersubjectivity as 'co-regulated coupling behavior' between autonomous agents, such as an owner and a dog walking together.
Beyond biology, intersubjectivity explains our social reality. It suggests that our beliefs are often products of 'thought communities'—groups like churches, professions, or nations—rather than just individual experiences. These communities provide the shared standards and social experiences that transcend individual subjectivity, creating the common-sense meanings we use to navigate everyday life.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Intersubjectivity
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