Narrative practice and understanding reasons : reply to Gallagher.

Abstract

Gallagher writes, “ My limited aim, in agreement with Hutto, is to suggest that there is no need to appeal to overly mentalistic theory-of-mind explanations for how we understand others” and that “narrative competence suggests an alternative to TOM approaches” (Gallagher: this volume). Those familiar with my previous writings on narrative and folk psychology will recognise that all of this is music to my ears (Hutto 1997, 2003b, 2004). Indeed, making an extended case for these sorts of claims is the primary focus of several of my new papers, edited volumes and my forthcoming book, Folk Psychology Narrative. In this reply I highlight some aspects of the approach that I have been developing in those works.