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HOW TRADE SHAPES OUR WORLD 2 in THIS ISSUE Iast.Fr #13 IAST Connect #13 3 “IAST Is a Fantastic IAST CONNECT #13 CONTENTS Meta-Cognitive in THIS ISSUE

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HOW TRADE SHAPES OUR WORLD 2 in THIS ISSUE Iast.Fr #13 IAST Connect #13 3 “IAST Is a Fantastic IAST CONNECT #13 CONTENTS Meta-Cognitive in THIS ISSUE IAST # CONNECT 13Autumn 2018 INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY IN TOULOUSE TRADING PLACES: HOW TRADE SHAPES OUR WORLD 2 IN THIS ISSUE iast.fr #13 IAST Connect #13 3 “IAST is a fantastic IAST CONNECT #13 CONTENTS meta-cognitive IN THIS ISSUE ......................................2 collaboration” NEWS CORNER .....................................4 I was very glad to be invited to speak at IAST’s Economics and Biology SPECIAL GUEST workshop on ‘Evolution, Cognition and Rationality’ in May. I was soon COGNITIVE GADGETS .............................6 Cecilia Heyes Is finance wishing that I’d been to previous events in the series as well. How did IAST is a fantastic collaboration. It’s a great thing to have all these disciplines too fast? in close proximity to each other. My impression is also that the people chosen IN-DEPTH our minds PAGE 14 for positions here are chosen very well. Not everybody can do interdisciplinary ON TRADE exchange. Not everybody can use those other languages or have enough tole- MERCANTILISM, SLAVERY AND WAR .......10 evolve? PAGE 6 rance of uncertainty to really listen to somebody from another discipline. But IAST panel I spoke to lots of people here who have that meta-cognitive capacity: they’re NEED FOR SPEED ................................14 brilliant in their own discipline but they can also step back and compare diffe- Fany Declerck rent ways of thinking. And that’s crucial for effective interdisciplinary work. PLATFORM POWER ..............................15 This edition of IAST Connect highlights IAST’s strength in promoting interac- Alexandre de Cornière tion and diverse perspectives on human behavior. In a global context of rising Who GLOBALIZATION’S VICTIMS ...................17 trade tensions, this issue takes on a subject traditionally seen as the reserve of Irene Menendez economists and shows how its effects explode across disciplinary boundaries, TOMB RAIDER ....................................18 benefits from throwing up surprises that reshape our societies. Inside, a panel of IAST histo- Eric Crubézy rians discuss the far-flung effects of mercantilism, slavery and trade war; Fany Declerck and Alexandre de Cornière examine the lightning speed of modern CHANGING TRACK trade war? finance and the power of digital platforms; Irene Menendez analyzes the geo- Should tech .........20 PAGE 10 graphical and political fates of globalization’s victims; while Eric Crubézy draws What if you could switch careers? giants be tamed? on archaeology and genetics to reveal the impact of trade on Siberian gender IDEAS EXCHANGE PAGE 15 relations. IAST research around the globe ...........22 My own research, also featured in this issue, focuses on the cultural evolution of thinking. It draws on comparative and developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, philosophy, anthropology, behavioral economics and theoretical biology to suggest how our agile minds enabled us to construct the vast edifices of knowledge and skill that distinguish us from other animals. Interdisciplinary What are institutions like IAST represent an exciting new chapter in that story, bringing together Where does Siberia’s frozen different ways of thinking to better unders- globalization tand what makes us human. hurt? secrets? PAGE 18 Biannual magazine of the Institute for Advanced Study in PAGE 17 Toulouse, 21, allée de Brienne - 31 015 Toulouse Cedex 6 FRANCE - Tél.: +33 (0)5 67 73 27 68 Cecilia Heyes is Senior Research Fellow •Commissioning editor: Paul Seabright in Theoretical Life Sciences and Professor •Editor-in-chief: Jennifer Stephenson •Production manager: Carolyne Lamy of Psychology at All Souls College, •Editorial contributions: James Nash University of Oxford. • Iconography: ©Darian Garcia ©Studio Tchiz ©Eric Crubézy ©Istock •ISSN number: 2554-2141 •Graphic design, layout: Agence Yapak, www.yapak.fr • Environmentally friendly printing in France by Indika Iso14001 - Imprim’Vert - 4 rue Douladoure 31100 Toulouse - France - www.indika.fr •Circulation: 1 600 copies Anthropology 4 NEWS CORNER iast.fr IAST Connect #13 5 Biology FLASHBACK TO RECENT EVENTS IAST in action RULES OF PHILOSOPHY, DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT History LAW AND ECONOMICS JULY 5-6 JUNE 18-19 POLITICAL SCIENCE, ECONOMICS What can these subjects teach us about The second IAST-Sciences Po Paris conference on political Economy property, possession and modern economy and political science was held at IAST. Initiated markets? The second IAST Philosophy and by the CAPS center, this yearly event aims to promote Social Sciences conference investigated interdisciplinary, analytical and quantitative research. Philosophy the philosophical foundations of the economic analysis of law. Political science IAST PRIZE IAST ERC Psychology appointments AWARD JUNE 21-22 BIOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY, ECONOMICS IAST prizewinners Jeanne Bovet, Jonathan Stieglitz and Boris Van Leeuwen presented their research explaining how factors during one’s development can influence future economic preferences. INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION AND KNOWLEDGE HISTORY NEW CAPS DIRECTOR ADVANCED GRANT IDEOLOGIES AND PREFERENCES JUNE 25-26 MICHAEL BECHER INGELA ALGER JUNE 14-15 With specialists on subjects including Congratulations to Michael Becher who is now in charge of Congratulations to Ingela Alger who has been awarded an the British in Afghanistan, Revolutionary the Center for Analytical Political Science (CAPS). advanced grant by the European Research Council for her research POLITICAL SCIENCE France and Black Lives Matter, this project “Evolving Economics – Human motivation: Evolutionary conference examined how information What do millionaires think about redistribution? How do ideas about fairness, foundations and their implications for economics”. and communication has shaped our healthcare and vegetarianism spread? These intriguing questions were among world over centuries. those discussed at an international conference entitled ‘The Origins of Moral and Political Ideologies and Preferences’. UPCOMING IAST EVENTS IN TOULOUSE See www.iast.fr for more details October 21-22, EVOLUTION, COGNITION AND RATIONALITY November 8, December 6, Scientilivre book SAVE Distinguished Lecture #2 Distinguished Lecture #3 MAY 24-25 festival Today’s identity discourse Gender norms In the footsteps of humans ECONOMICS, BIOLOGY and women’s work THE DATE and animals Biology is the natural foundation for any science that seeks to understand the behavior of living beings, including humans. This year’s Economics and Biology workshop also welcomed experts in computer science, physics, and psychology. 6 SPECIAL GUEST iast.fr IAST Connect #13 7 How did our minds evolve? • CECILIA HEYES • COGNITIVE GADGETS example of a culturally inherited cognitive If Cecilia’s theory is true, human cognition is What makes human minds different from those of other animals? Visiting IAST in May, gadget. “Nobody doubts that reading is dis- at risk of falling down a ravine. “The cognitive Professor of Psychology (All Souls College, Oxford) Cecilia Heyes argued that small tinctively human cognitive mechanism. And instincts view suggests that human nature tweaks to our genetic starter kit allowed a much greater role for cultural evolution there is no print or script older than 6,000 is relatively invulnerable. In the cognitive than previously thought. Drawing on new evidence from the rapidly developing field years so reading has to be because of cultu- gadgets view, we don’t just lose knowhow, of social cognitive neuroscience, she believes that culture-rich human environments ral evolution; there hasn’t been enough time facts and techniques after a catastrophic war play a crucial role in teaching children not only what to think, but how to think it. for genetic evolution.” or epidemic, we would also lose the cogni- Starter Kit - Humans appear to have a genetically inherited tive mechanisms that enable us to learn attentional bias towards faces. Newborns and fetuses Construing the mind as the software run- These ways of thinking are culturally inhe- Just as we learn print reading through social look longer at the face-like triangle on the left, than at the from others. We would be in a better posi- triangle on the right (see Johnson, 2005; and Reid, 2017). ning on the brain, Cecilia studies the deve- rited, says Cecilia, a bit like simple physi- interaction, Cecilia points to evidence that tion than chimpanzees to culturally evolve lopment of distinctively human cognitive cal technologies such as spinning wheels parents also provide children with explicit them again, but they wouldn’t be restored abilities such as language, imitation, and or canoes. “A canoe doesn’t do its job well instruction in mind reading (that is, ascribing with each birth.” the capacity to conceive of mental states thanks to genetic evolution. It’s also unlikely thoughts and feelings to others). Similarly, far by living conditions that depart from in other minds, to reconstruct the past, ima- that it’s been designed. A good canoe is more research into the spontaneous emergence On the bright side, Cecilia suggests that those of hunter-gatherer societies. Rather gine the future, and to understand the way likely to be a consequence of many bad ones of a new sign language in Nicaragua in the human cognition is more agile than pre- than taxing a Stone Age mind, new techno- the physical world works. in the past. The good canoes didn’t sink and 1970s suggests that the ability to commu- viously thought, constantly adapting to new logies – social media, robotics, virtual reality were therefore
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