Basic pretending as sensorimotor engagement?: Lessons from sensorimotor theory for the debate on pretence

Abstract

This paper explores whether the sensorimotor theory of perception (SMTP) might contribute to a de-intellectualized understanding of pretence. It applies SMTP to Currie’s [3], [4] notion of perceptual seeing-in that underlies the capacity to make imaginative transformations (seeing-as). This account bypasses manipulation of representational contents off-line, and argues that the relevant work might done by on-line, sensory imaginings stemming directly from perception. This novel position is supported with augmented theory of affordances and an account of directly perceived meaning. Ultimately, the paper proposes a less intellectualist approach than Currie’s to object-substitution pretend play of young children, setting the stage for an enactive theory of basic pretence.