ABSTRACT
In our dealings with people we make a continuous effort to understand them. We see them as acting deliberately, as saying what they mean (and sometimes avoiding it). We treat them as self-determining agents, motivated by their own precise plans and specific desires, tempered by particular outlooks and ambitions. We come to recognize their likes and dislikes, their frustrations and struggles, their jealousies and enthusiasms, their doubts or determination, their loves and hates. We do this as a matter of course and, in this respect, the effort to understand other people is second nature.
