Theory of Mind

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_mind

“In psychology, theory of mind refers to the capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them (that is, surmising what is happening in their mind). These states may be different from one’s own states and include beliefs, desires, intentions, emotions, and thoughts…”

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I believe I may have made a post about this while ago, but here is another one.

I wonder if I am able to have a theory of mind, in this respect, and decide that the theory is only that: an idea that I have that makes explanations and inferences about others’ behavior.

What would that mean if I was able to live and exist effectively with full cognizance that my theory of mind is both real and not real?

“Theory of mind is a theory insofar as the behavior of the other person, such as their statements and expressions, is the only thing being directly observed. The mind and its contents cannot be observed directly, so the existence and nature of the mind must be inferred.^[7] The presumption that others have a mind is termed a theory of mind because each human can only intuit the existence of their own mind through introspection, and no one has direct access to the mind of another so its existence and how it works can only be inferred from observations of others. It is typically assumed that others have minds analogous to one’s own, and this assumption is based on the reciprocal, social interaction, as observed in joint attention,^[8] the functional use of language,^[9] and the understanding of others’ emotions and actions.^[10] Having theory of mind allows one to attribute thoughts, desires, and intentions to others, to predict or explain their actions, and to posit their intentions…”