Deduction as Difference: Atypical Cognition in the Detective Genre

This paper reimagines the classic detective story from a contemporary cognitivist perspective, analyzing the cognitive functions and motivations required for solving a mystery. The detective figure in this analysis becomes a model of superhuman intelligence and social deduction, and because the detective genre is highly formulaic by design, this internal difference continually reproduces the detective’s isolation within the narrative world, often leading to more significant (and at times, troubling) othering through cognitive atypicality and disability. This atypicality is most visible in the psychological skill of theory of mind, which is the ability to form representations of others’ mental states and to predict their behavior from those representations. Theory of mind is the detective’s primary means of observing clues, sniffing out suspects, and piecing together solutions. Because theory of mind is a social adaptation, the detective is uniquely socially-equipped, and yet is frequently single, childless, parent-less, and aloof. This paper interprets this trope as a result of cognitive atypicality, which renders the detective unable to be understood by her peers. When this trope is taken further than an understated difference, it can manifest as cognitive illness or disability, ironic considering the detective’s infallible intelligence. By examining the intersections of cognitive science, media theory, and disability studies, this paper synthesizes a multidisciplinary analysis of the detective character within the narrative world and within our world, considering the ways in which we implement and recognize intelligence.