"The Many Ways of
Understanding Others"
Abstract: Understanding other people is not one size fits all; it admits of a number of different forms (e.g., linguistic, phenomenal, empathic, biological, metaphysical, moral, etc.). But such diversity is compatible with the unity of these forms. For they share a generic cognitive structure that is realized in different ways in different cases. Identifying this structure carries a number of potential benefits for thinking about the nature, value, acquisition, and growth of human understanding.