Probably the most important pattern in our manifest image, because it anchors so many other categories that matter to us, is the pattern I call folk psychology. I proposed folk psychology as a term for the talent we all have for interpreting the people around us—and the animals and the robots and even the lowly thermostats—as agents with information about the world they act in (beliefs) and the goals (desires) they strive to achieve, choosing the most reasonable course of action, given their beliefs and desires.
Source:
Philosopher Daniel Dennett’s Book Intuition Pumps
