Darwinizing the Philosophy of Music Education
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Φ-Features in Animal Cognition
φ-Features in Animal Cognition Chris Golston This paper argues that the core φ-features behind grammatical person, number, and gender are widely used in animal cognition and are in no way limited to humans or to communication. Based on this, it is hypothesized (i) that the semantics behind φ-features were fixed long before primates evolved, (ii) that most go back as far as far as vertebrates, and (iii) that some are shared with insects and plants. Keywords: animal cognition; gender; number; person 1. Introduction Bickerton claims that language is ill understood as a communication system: [F]or most of us, language seems primarily, or even exclusively, to be a means of communication. But it is not even primarily a means of communication. Rather, it is a system of representation, a means for sorting and manipulating the plethora of information that deluges us throughout our waking life. (Bickerton 1990: 5) As Berwick & Chomsky (2016: 102) put it recently “language is fundamentally a system of thought”. Since much of our system of representation seems to be shared with other animals, it has been argued that we should “search for the ancestry of language not in prior systems of animal communication, but in prior representational systems” (Bickerton 1990: 23). In support of this, I provide evidence that all the major φ-features are shared with primates, most with vertebrates, and some with plants; and that there are no φ-features whose semantics are unique to humans. Specifically human categories, including all things that vary across human cultures, seem to I’d like to thank Steve Adisasmito-Smith, Charles Ettner, Sean Fulop, Steven Moran, Nadine Müller, three anonymous reviewers for EvoLang, two anonymous reviewers for Biolinguistics and Kleanthes Grohmann for help in identifying weakness in earlier drafts, as well as audiences at California State University Fresno, Marburg Universität, and Universitetet i Tromsø for helpful discussion. -
Ecotourism As a Means of Encouraging Ecological Recovery in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia
ECOTOURISM AS A MEANS OF ENCOURAGING ECOLOGICAL RECOVERY IN THE FLINDERS RANGES, SOUTH AUSTRALIA By Emily Moskwa A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Discipline of Geographical and Environmental Studies School of Social Sciences Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences The University of Adelaide May 2008 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………….…….....v List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………………….….....vi Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………….……viii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………….………ix Declaration……………………………………………………………………………………….……..x Section I: Preliminaries 1.0 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 2 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Conceptual Basis for Thesis ...................................................................................... 2 1.3 Research Questions ................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Specific Objectives .................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Justifications for Research ........................................................................................ 6 1.6 Structure of the Thesis .............................................................................................. 8 1.7 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ -
Memeplex Summary
Summary of Content for Essay ‘The Memeplex of CAGW’ : (find the essay here) Foreword Essentially a repeat of the above pointer-post text. 1) Introduction. (~900 words) The short introduction punts out to the Internet and Appendices regarding background material on memes and the definition of a memeplex, plus other terms / concepts in memetics. It then moves on to an initial look at the very many comparisons in blogs and articles of CAGW with religion, which arise because both are memetically driven. 2) Religious memeplexes. (~1200 words) Religions are a class of memeplexes that have long been studied by memeticists. A list of 12 characteristics of religions is briefly examined regarding commonality with CAGW. To understand the similarities and differences, we have to know more about what a memeplex is and what it does. The section provides tasters regarding explanation at the widest scope, before moving on to the rest of the essay for detail. 3) Collective-personal duality. (~3500 words) This section and the following two provide a first-pass characterization of memeplexes. The most perplexing area is covered first, that of a memeplex as an ‘entity’ and its constraints upon the free will and action of its adherents. Introduces the collective-personal duality model and a symbiotic relationship with interlocking collective and personal elements. Uses this to enlighten regarding both the religious list above and CAGW, especially on self-identification with the memeplex, and cites circumstantial evidence including the actions of Peter Gleick and Michael Tobis. Looks at the fractious peace between the Christian and CAGW memeplexes. Backs the collective-personal duality model via the concept of The Social Mind from neuroscientist Michael S. -
Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:54 14 August 2016 Classic Case Studies in Psychology
Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:54 14 August 2016 Classic Case Studies in Psychology The human mind is both extraordinary and compelling. But this is more than a collection of case studies; it is a selection of stories that illustrate some of the most extreme forms of human behaviour. From the leader who convinced his followers to kill themselves to the man who lost his memory; from the boy who was brought up as a girl to the woman with several personalities, Geoff Rolls illustrates some of the most fundamental tenets of psychology. Each case study has provided invaluable insights for scholars and researchers, and amazed the public at large. Several have been the inspiration for works of fiction, for example the story of Kim Peek, the real Rain Man. This new edition features three new case studies, including the story of Charles Decker who was tried for the attempted murder of two people but acquitted on the basis of a neurological condition, and Dorothy Martin, whose persisting belief in an impending alien invasion is an illuminating example of cognitive dissonance. In addition, each case study is contextualized with more typical behaviour, while the latest thinking in each sub-field is also discussed. Classic Case Studies in Psychology is accessibly written and requires no prior knowledge of psychology, but simply an interest in the human condition. It is a book that will amaze, sometimes disturb, but above all enlighten its readers. Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:54 14 August 2016 Geoff Rolls is Head of Psychology at Peter Symonds College in Winchester and formerly a Research Fellow at Southampton University, UK. -
A Computational Model of Memetic Evolution: Optimizing Collective Intelligence Noah Welsh Clemson University, [email protected]
Clemson University TigerPrints All Dissertations Dissertations 5-2014 A Computational Model of Memetic Evolution: Optimizing Collective Intelligence Noah Welsh Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations Part of the Computer Sciences Commons, and the Educational Leadership Commons Recommended Citation Welsh, Noah, "A Computational Model of Memetic Evolution: Optimizing Collective Intelligence" (2014). All Dissertations. 1383. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1383 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A COMPUTATIONAL MODEL OF MEMETIC EVOLUTION: OPTIMIZING COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctorate of Philosophy Educational Leadership by Noah H. Welsh May 2014 Accepted by: Russ Marion, Committee Co-Chair Joshua Summers, Committee Co-Chair Leslie Gonzales Jon Christiansen ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to create an adaptive agent based simulation modeling the processes of creative collaboration. This model aided in the development of a new evolutionary based framework through which education scholars, academics, and professionals in all disciplines and industries can work to optimize their ability to find creative solutions to complex problems. The basic premise follows that the process of idea exchange, parallels the role sexual reproduction in biological evolution and is essential to society’s collective ability to solve complex problems. The study outlined a set of assumptions used to develop a new theory of collective intelligence. -
An Open Introduction to Logic
For All X The Lorain County Remix P.D. Magnus University at Albany, State University of New York and Cathal Woods Virginia Wesleyan University and J. Robert Loftis Lorain County Community College Licensed under a Creative Commons license. (Attribution-NonComercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International ) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ This is version 0.1 of An Open Introduction to Logic. It is current as of December 22, 2017. © 2005{2017 by Cathal Woods, P.D. Magnus, and J. Robert Loftis. Some rights reserved. Licensed under a Creative Commons license. (Attribution-NonComercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International ) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ This book incorporates material from An Introduction to Reasoning by Cathal Woods, available at sites.google.com/site/anintroductiontoreasoning/ and For All X by P.D. Magnus (version 1.27 [090604]), available at www.fecundity.com/logic. Introduction to Reasoning © 2007{2014 by Cathal Woods. Some rights reserved. Licensed under a Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ For All X © 2005{2010 by P.D. Magnus. Some rights reserved. Licensed under a Creative Commons license: Attribution ShareAlike http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ J. Robert Loftis compiled this edition and wrote original material for it. He takes full responsibility for any mistakes remaining in this version of the text. Typesetting was carried out entirely in LATEX2". The style for typesetting proofs is based on fitch.sty (v0.4) by Peter Selinger, University of Ottawa. \When you come to any passage you don't understand, read it again: if you still don't understand it, read it again: if you fail, even after three readings, very likely your brain is getting a little tired. -
The Unreasonable Destructiveness of Political Correctness in Philosophy
philosophies Article The Unreasonable Destructiveness of Political Correctness in Philosophy Manuel Doria Advanced Studies Research Group and Fuzzy Sets Laboratory PIT, Production Engineering Program, COPPE, UFRJ P.O. Box 68507, 21945 972, Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brazil; [email protected] Received: 14 March 2017; Accepted: 26 June 2017; Published: 3 August 2017 Abstract: I submit that epistemic progress in key areas of contemporary academic philosophy has been compromised by politically correct (“PC”) ideology. First, guided by an evolutionary account of ideology, results from social and cognitive psychology and formal philosophical methods, I expose evidence for political bias in contemporary Western academia and sketch a formalization for the contents of beliefs from the PC worldview taken to be of core importance, the theory of social oppression and the thesis of anthropological mental egalitarianism. Then, aided by discussions from contemporary epistemology on epistemic values, I model the problem of epistemic appraisal using the frameworks of multi-objective optimization theory and multi-criteria decision analysis and apply it to politically correct philosophy. I conclude that philosophy guided by politically correct values is bound to produce constructs that are less truth-conducive and that spurious values which are ideologically motivated should be abandoned. Objections to my framework stemming from contextual empiricism, the feminine voice in ethics and political philosophy are considered. I conclude by prescribing the epistemic value of empirical adequacy, the contextual value of political diversity and the moral virtue of moral courage to reverse unwarranted trends in academic philosophy due to PC ideology. Keywords: cognitive biases; multi-criteria decision analysis; epistemic appraisal; epistemic values; ideology; metaphilosophy; multi-objective optimization; political correctness; social constructionism; social oppression 1. -
What Artificial Neural Networks Can Learn from Animal Brains
bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/582643; this version posted March 20, 2019. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY 4.0 International license. ACRITIQUE OF PURE LEARNING:WHAT ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS CAN LEARN FROM ANIMAL BRAINS Anthony M. Zador Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724 [email protected] March 19, 2019 ABSTRACT Over the last decade, artificial neural networks (ANNs), have undergone a revolution, catalyzed in large part by better tools for supervised learning. However, training such networks requires enormous data sets of labeled examples, whereas young animals (including humans) typically learn with few or no labeled examples. This stark contrast with biological learning has led many in the ANN community posit that instead of supervised paradigms, animals must rely instead primarily on unsupervised learning, leading the search for better unsupervised algorithms. Here we argue that much of an animal’s behavioral repertoire is not the result of clever learning algorithms—supervised or unsupervised—but arises instead from behavior programs already present at birth. These programs arise through evolution, are encoded in the genome, and emerge as a consequence of wiring up the brain. Specifically, animals are born with highly structured brain connectivity, which enables them learn very rapidly. Recognizing the importance of the highly structured connectivity suggests a path toward building ANNs capable of rapid learning. Introduction Not long after the invention of computers in the 1940s, expectations were high. -
A Conceptual Modeling of Meme Complexes in Stochastic Search Xianshun Chen and Yew Soon Ong
612 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SYSTEMS, MAN, AND CYBERNETICS—PART C: APPLICATIONS AND REVIEWS, VOL. 42, NO. 5, SEPTEMBER 2012 A Conceptual Modeling of Meme Complexes in Stochastic Search Xianshun Chen and Yew Soon Ong Abstract—In science, gene provides the instruction for making while Durham [8] portrayed a broader notion of memes as “any proteins, while meme is the sociocultural equivalent of a gene con- kind, amount, and configuration of information in culture that taining instructions for carrying out behavior. Taking inspiration shows both variation and coherent transmission.” In the context from nature, we model the memeplex in search as instructions that specify the coadapted meme complexes of individuals in their life- of computational intelligence, MC, thus, defines a paradigm time. In particular, this paper presents a study on the conceptual that uses the notion of meme(s) as units of information, i.e., the modeling of meme complexes or memeplexes for more effective building blocks, encoded in computational representations for problem solving in the context of modern stochastic optimization. the purpose of enhanced problem solving [1], [2]. The memeplex representation, credit assignment criteria for meme Memetic Algorithm (MA) represents a notable interest of MC coadaptation, and the role of emergent memeplexes in the lifetime learning process of a memetic algorithm in search are presented. A that is widely established as a methodology that addresses the coadapted memetic algorithm that takes the proposed conceptual synergy of population-based approaches with separate lifetime modeling of memeplexes into actions to solve capacitated vehicle learning process [9]–[11], where the latter is commonly referred routing problems (CVRPs) of diverse characteristics is then de- to as a meme [12]–[15]. -
Current Topics of Business Policy Readings
Current Topics of Business Policy (E/A/M 21871, IBE 21149) Benito Arruñada Universitat Pompeu Fabra Readings Table of contents 1. Behavior — Due: week 1 2. Contracting — Due: week 2 3. Public sector reform — Due: week 3 4. Other topics — Due: week 4 5. Professional career — Due: TBA 6. E-business — Due: 1st class on e-business 7. Tools — Due: project preparation 1. Behavior — Due: week 1 References: Pinker, Steven (1997), “Standard Equipment,” chapter 1 of How the Mind Works, Norton, New York, 3-58. Stark, Rodney (1996), “Conversion and Christian Growth,” in The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2-27. Pinker, Steven (2002), The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature, Viking, New York, pp. on stereotypes (201-207). Mullainathan, Sendhil, and Andrei Shleifer (2005), “The Market for News,” American Economic Review, 95(4), 1031-53. Luscombe, Belinda (2013), “Confidence Woman,” Time, March 7. PENGUIN BOOKS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Books Ltd, 27 Wrights Lane, London W8 5TZ, England Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 HOW Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd, 182-190 Wairau Road, Auckland 10, New Zealand Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England First published in the USA by W. W. Norton 1997 First published in Great Britain by Allen Lane The Penguin Press 1998 THE MIND Published -
The Effect of Social Learning on Individual Learning and Evolution
The Effect of Social Learning on Individual Learning and Evolution Chris Marriott1 and Jobran Chebib2 1University of Washington, Tacoma, WA, USA 98402 2University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4 [email protected] Abstract individual learning strategies (see Denaro and Parisi (1997); Acerbi and Parisi (2006); Marriott et al. (2010)) and most We consider the effects of social learning on the individual notably is its ability to support cumulative cultural evolu- learning and genetic evolution of a colony of artificial agents tion (Mesoudi et al. (2006)) as witnessed in human culture. capable of genetic, individual and social modes of adaptation. We confirm that there is strong selection pressure to acquire While a wide range of mechanisms of learning have been traits of individual learning and social learning when these are studied in conjunction with evolution we have found little adaptive traits. We show that selection pressure for learning evidence of the study of social learning mechanisms on evo- of either kind can supress selection pressure for reproduction lution. Further, since social learning is a distinct form of or greater fitness. We show that social learning differs from learning identified by its social as opposed to individual na- individual learning in that it can support a second evolution- ary system that is decoupled from the biological evolution- ture, it may also interact with the individual learning pro- ary system. This decoupling leads to an emergent interaction cesses. In this study we explore the interactions between where immature agents are more likely to engage in learning social learning, individual learning and genetic adaptation. -
Selection Pressures Are Mounting
ESSAY REVIEWS Selection Pressures Are Mounting Susan Blackmore, The Meme Machine. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Pp. xx + 264. US$25 HB. By Robert L. Campbell n 1976 Richard Dawkins posited cultural replicators by analogy to genes, and gave them the snappy name memes. The term has colon- I ised the World Wide Web and infiltrated the dictionaries; it has even pushed itself on some of Dawkins' rivals. (Wilson, 1998, has discontinued the house brand and no longer speaks of ``culturgens''.) Unfortunately, while some have found the sales-pitch enticing, 20-odd years of meme-talk have yet to give rise to a credible theory of memes. We know how the theory is supposed to be labelled: memetics, by analogy with genetics. But what is its content? Memes are packets of knowledge that are just like genes. That is, they are built up out of atomic units; they encode something; and they replicate or fail to replicate. Memes take over the machinery of (some kinds of) minds to get themselves replicated, just as viruses take over the machinery of cells. This two-part formulation is readily remembered and easily recited, but it explains hardly anything on its own. So what has Blackmore done to make memetics into a real theory? Who Cares What Knowledge Is? Memetics is conspicuously short of a foundation: there is no account of knowledge in it, even though a meme is supposed to be a unit of knowl- edge (Campbell, 1998). Blackmore admits that she cannot provide such an account. In fact, she tries to be as noncommittal as possible about the nature of memes.