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The Folk Psychology of Souls
BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2006) 29, 453–498 Printed in the United States of America The folk psychology of souls Jesse M. Bering Institute of Cognition and Culture, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom. [email protected] qub.ac.uk/icc http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/InstituteofCognitionCulture/Staff/ JesseMBering/ Abstract: The present article examines how people’s belief in an afterlife, as well as closely related supernatural beliefs, may open an empirical backdoor to our understanding of the evolution of human social cognition. Recent findings and logic from the cognitive sciences contribute to a novel theory of existential psychology, one that is grounded in the tenets of Darwinian natural selection. Many of the predominant questions of existential psychology strike at the heart of cognitive science. They involve: causal attribution (why is mortal behavior represented as being causally related to one’s afterlife? how are dead agents envisaged as communicating messages to the living?), moral judgment (why are certain social behaviors, i.e., transgressions, believed to have ultimate repercussions after death or to reap the punishment of disgruntled ancestors?), theory of mind (how can we know what it is “like” to be dead? what social-cognitive strategies do people use to reason about the minds of the dead?), concept acquisition (how does a common-sense dualism interact with a formalized socio-religious indoctrination in childhood? how are supernatural properties of the dead conceptualized by young minds?), and teleological reasoning (why do people so often see their lives as being designed for a purpose that must be accomplished before they perish? how do various life events affect people’s interpretation of this purpose?), among others. -
A Different Kind of Animal: How Culture
© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be distributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical means without prior written permission of the publisher. INTRODUCTION Stephen Macedo What makes humans special? Is it, as many have argued, our superior intelligence that sets us apart from other species? In the lectures and discussions that follow, Robert Boyd, a distinguished professor of human evolution and social change, refines the question and rejects the common answer. Putting aside the more familiar question of human unique- ness, Boyd asks why humans so exceed other species when it comes to broad indices of ecological success such as our ability to adapt to and thrive in such a wide variety of hab- itats across the globe. Ten thousand years ago, humans al- ready occupied the entire globe except Antarctica and a few remote islands. No other species comes close. What explains our outlier status if not our “big brains”? Humans adapt to a vast variety of changing environments not mainly by applying individual intelligence to solve prob- lems, but rather via “cumulative cultural adaptation” and, over the longer term, Darwinian selection among cultures with different social norms and moral values. Not only are humans part of the natural world, argues Boyd, but human culture is part of the natural world. Culture makes us “a different kind of animal,” and “culture is as much a part of human biology as our peculiar pelvis or the thick enamel that covers our molars.” With his many coauthors, especially Peter Richerson, Robert Boyd has for three decades pioneered an important approach to the study of human evolution that focuses on the population dynamics of culturally transmitted informa- tion. -
Curriculum Vitae 04/04/2021
Curriculum Vitae 04/04/2021 PETER CARRUTHERS [email protected] http://faculty.philosophy.umd.edu/pcarruthers/ 7400 Glenside Drive Department of Philosophy Takoma Park University of Maryland MD 20912-6923 College Park, MD 20742 Tel.: 301 270 5107 Tel.: 301 405 5705 EMPLOYMENT HISTORY 2001-present UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK. Professor (2001–2018), Department of Philosophy; Distinguished University Professor (2018–present). Chair of Department (June 2001–December 2008). Associate Member, Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program (NACS) (2002–present). Member, Brain and Behavior Initiative (BBI) (2016–present). 1991-2001 UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD. Senior Lecturer (1991-2), Department of Philosophy; Professor (1992-2001). Head of Department (1993-8). Director, Hang Seng Centre for Cognitive Studies (1992-2000). 1985-91 UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX. Lecturer (tenured) (1985-9), Department of Philosophy; Senior Lecturer (1989-91). 1989-90 — UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, ANN ARBOR. Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy. 1981-85 QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST. Lecturer, Department of Philosophy (confirmed in post 1984). 1979-81 UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS. Temporary Lecturer, Department of Logic and Metaphysics. 1978-79 UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, LADY MARGARET HALL. Temporary Lecturer (part-time: 6 hours tutoring per week). EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS 1977-79 UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, BALLIOL COLLEGE. D.Phil. in Philosophy (1980). Thesis: “The place of the private language argument in the philosophy of language.” (Supervisor: Michael Dummett. Examiners: Elizabeth Anscombe, Christopher Peacocke.) 1971-77 UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS. M.Phil. in Philosophy (1977). Thesis: “Blame: an analysis.” (Supervisor: Jennifer Jackson.) Papers: Wittgenstein, Philosophical Logic, Political Philosophy. B.A. (Honors) in Philosophy (1975). 1st Class. “Congratulatory 1st.” Carruthers CV 2 HONORS AND AWARDS 2020: Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award (one of 10 awards made annually among faculty at the University of Maryland). -
Cultural Group Selection Plays an Essential Role in Explaining Human Cooperation: a Sketch of the Evidence
BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2016), Page 1 of 68 doi:10.1017/S0140525X1400106X, e30 Cultural group selection plays an essential role in explaining human cooperation: A sketch of the evidence Peter Richerson Emily K. Newton Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California– Department of Psychology, Dominican University of California, San Rafael, CA Davis, Davis, CA 95616 94901 [email protected] [email protected] http://emilyknewton.weebly.com/ www.des.ucdavis.edu/faculty/richerson/richerson.htm Nicole Naar Ryan Baldini Department of Anthropology, University of California–Davis, Graduate Group in Ecology, University of California–Davis, Davis, CA 95616 Davis, CA 95616 [email protected] https://sites.google.com/site/ryanbaldini/ [email protected] Adrian V. Bell Lesley Newson Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California– [email protected] http://adrianbell.wordpress.com/ Davis, Davis, CA 95616 [email protected] [email protected] Kathryn Demps https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lesley_Newson/ Department of Anthropology, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725 [email protected] Cody Ross http://sspa.boisestate.edu/anthropology/faculty-and-staff/kathryn- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501 demps/ [email protected] http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xSugEskAAAAJ Karl Frost Graduate Group in Ecology, University of California–Davis, Davis, CA 95616 Paul E. Smaldino [email protected] https://sites.google.com/site/karljosephfrost/ Department of Anthropology, University of California–Davis, Davis, CA 95616 [email protected] http://www.smaldino.com/ Vicken Hillis Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California– Timothy M. -
A Cognitive Theory of Pretense
A revised and abbreviated version of this paper is forthcoming in Cognition. Archived at Website for the Rutgers University Research Group on Evolution and Higher Cognition. A Cognitive Theory of Pretense Shaun Nichols Department of Philosophy College of Charleston Charleston, SC 29424 [email protected] and Stephen Stich Department of Philosophy and Center for Cognitive Science Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ 08901 [email protected] Contents 1. Introduction 2. Some Examples of Pretense 3. Some Features of Pretense 4. A Theory about the Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Pretense 5. A Comparison with Other Theories 6. Conclusion Abstract Recent accounts of pretense have been underdescribed in a number of ways. In this paper, we present a much more explicit cognitive account of pretense. We begin by presenting a number of real examples of pretense in children and adults. These examples bring out several features of pretense that any adequate theory of pretense must accommodate, and we use these features to develop our theory of pretense. On our theory, pretense representations are contained in a separate workspace, a Possible World Box which is part of the basic architecture of the human mind. The representations in the Possible World Box can have the same content as beliefs. Indeed, we suggest that pretense representations are in the same representational "code" as beliefs and that the representations in the Possible World Box are processed by the same inference and UpDating mechanisms that operate over real beliefs. Our model also posits a Script Elaborator which is implicated in the embellishment that occurs in pretense. Finally, we claim that the behavior that is seen in pretend play is motivated not from a "pretend desire", but from a real desire to act in a way that fits the description being constructed in the Possible World Box. -
Newsletter Template
Rutgers Philosophy Newsletter Spring 2009 Rutgers is once again ranked 2nd overall Philosophy Department in the US… Inside: Every two years, Blackwell Publishers releases its Philosophical The doctoral program Gourmet Report—a ranking of the fifty best Philosophy departments 4 continues to attract top in the English-speaking world, based on the reputation and graduate students. Meet the accomplishments of their faculty members. In the February 2009 current group and learn what edition, Rutgers was once again ranked 2nd overall in the United rd recent PhDs have done. States (after NYU) and 3 overall in the world (after NYU and Oxford). In the specialty rankings, Rutgers was voted the top department internationally for Philosophy of Language and The New York Times highlights Cognitive Science, and tied for #1 in Epistemology and Mind. 6 Rutgers’ undergraduate Rutgers was among the top four departments for Metaphysics. And Philosophy program. Rutgers was within the top ten for Philosophy of Science, Applied Ethics, Decision Theory and Early Modern Philosophy. The surveys reflect the outstanding strength our department has in core areas. A Letter from the Chair 8 See more of the rankings at www.philosophicalgourmet.com. Catching up with the Faculty: New Research by Rutgers Professors; Conferences, Talks and Upcoming Projects This past year has brought some selection. In April, Larry Temkin changes to the Rutgers faculty. hosted a two-day conference While Barry Loewer continued on human rights in honor of as Chair, Jeff King took over as James Griffin. On May 13th- Graduate Vice-Chair and 14thRutgers will be hosting its first Martin Lin as Undergraduate Foundations of Statistical Vice-Chair. -
Experimental Philosophy Jordan Kiper, Stephen Stich, H. Clark Barrett
Experimental Philosophy Jordan Kiper, Stephen Stich, H. Clark Barrett, & Edouard Machery Kiper, J., Stich, S., Barrett, H.C., & Machery, E. (in press). Experimental philosophy. In D. Ludwig, I. Koskinen, Z. Mncube, L. Poliseli, & L. Reyes-Garcia (Eds.), Global Epistemologies and Philosophies of Science. New York, NY: Routledge. Acknowledgments: This publication was made possible through the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation. Abstract Philosophers have argued that some philosophical concepts are universal, but it is increasingly clear that the question of philosophical universals is far from settled, and that far more cross- cultural research is necessary. In this chapter, we illustrate the relevance of investigating philosophical concepts and describe results from recent cross-cultural studies in experimental philosophy. We focus on the concept of knowledge and outline an ongoing project, the Geography of Philosophy Project, which empirically investigates the concepts of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom across cultures, languages, religions, and socioeconomic groups. We outline questions for future research on philosophical concepts across cultures, with an aim towards resolving questions about universals and variation in philosophical concepts. 1 Introduction For centuries, thinkers have urged that fundamental philosophical concepts, such as the concepts of knowledge or right and wrong, are universal or at least shared by all rational people (e.g., Plato 1892/375 BCE; Kant, 1998/1781; Foot, 2003). Yet many social scientists, in particular cultural anthropologists (e.g., Boas, 1940), but also continental philosophers such as Foucault (1969) have remained skeptical of these claims. -
The Psychology of Aversion ... in the Times of Covid-19
Cienc. Acad. (Univ. Catol. Luis Amigó) | N°. 1 | pp. 17-19 | enero-diciembre | 2020 | ISSN (En línea): 2744-838X | Medellín - Colombia Editorial The psychology of aversion ... In the times of covid-19 Antonio Olivera-La Rosa* How to cite this article in APA: Oliveira-la Rosa, A. (January-December, 2020). The psychology of aversion ... in the days of COVID-19 [Editorial]. Science and Academy, (1), pp. 17-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21501/2744-838X.3718 Without a doubt, we are experiencing a difficult moment. These days, our concerns seem to orbit in one way or another around the threat of being infected and the “costs” derived from regulating it. Although the speed of the “spread” of related information gives this phenomenon a contemporary texture (Dawkins’ memetic analogy, never again in force), the particular economics of preventing infectious contacts is far from being current a concern. Indeed, the presence of parasites and the danger of contracting infectious diseases have been a constant threat to the survival and reproduction of the species from our ancestral past. As a consequence, the need to effectively regulate these threats–often invisible–has “shaped” much of our psychology and our social behavior. Given that one of the most powerful transmitters of pathogens is ourselves it is relevant to look back at the psychology of aversion in the days of COVID-19. Psychologist Steven Pinker (1997) defines aversion as an “intuitive microbiology”. Specifically, it seems that our immune system has a first line of defense that is responsible for avoiding the high energy costs (at the metabolic level) that comes from fighting infectious agents. -
Negativity Bias, Negativity Dominance, and Contagion
Personality and Social Psychology Review Copyright © 2001 by 2001, Vol. 5, No. 4, 296–320 Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Negativity Bias, Negativity Dominance, and Contagion Paul Rozin and Edward B. Royzman Department of Psychology and Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict University of Pennsylvania We hypothesize that there is a general bias, based on both innate predispositions and experience, in animals and humans, to give greater weight to negative entities (e.g., events, objects, personal traits). This is manifested in 4 ways: (a) negative potency (negative entities are stronger than the equivalent positive entities), (b) steeper nega- tive gradients (the negativity of negative events grows more rapidly with approach to them in space or time than does the positivity of positive events, (c) negativity domi- nance (combinations of negative and positive entities yield evaluations that are more negative than the algebraic sum of individual subjective valences would predict), and (d) negative differentiation (negative entities are more varied, yield more complex conceptual representations, and engage a wider response repertoire). We review evi- dence for this taxonomy, with emphasis on negativity dominance, including literary, historical, religious, and cultural sources, as well as the psychological literatures on learning, attention, impression formation, contagion, moral judgment, development, and memory. We then consider a variety of theoretical accounts for negativity bias. We suggest that 1 feature of negative events that make them dominant is that negative enti- ties are more contagious than positive entities. Brief contact with a cockroach will usually render taminated—that is, lowered in social status—by a delicious meal inedible. -
DIALOGUE Page 1
DIALOGUE Page 1 Volume 23, No. 1 DIALOGUE Dialogue—Spring, 2008 The Official Newsletter of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Chris Crandall & Monica Biernat, Co-Editors SPSP Annual Meeting 2009: Inside the Tampa-Bound in February Current Issue: By Jeff Simpson Tampa is located on Tampa Bay and claims three of the top 10 beaches in the country. SPSP Executive 2, 27 The 2008-2009 SPSP Conference Committee The average February temperature is 72 Committee, Division 8 (Jeff Simpson, Monica Biernat, and Bill degrees F, so this should please conference- Graziano) is pleased to announce that SPSP goers hoping to escape dreary winter locales! Tribute to Bill McGuire 4 will hold its 10th annual meeting in Tampa, Florida on February 5-7, 2009. Other attractions include theme parks, zoos, News from APA Council 6, 25, an aquarium, the Salvador Dali Museum in 32 Sam Gosling and Wendi Gardner have nearby St. Petersburg, and the brick-lined Forsyth on Deception 7 graciously agreed to serve as Program co- streets of former “Cigar Capital of the Chairs for the event, Tara Miller is making World,” Ybor City, now a shopping, restaurant, and museum district that you can Committee News: 10, some special arrangements to celebrate our Publication, 13, th reach from downtown by streetcar. 10 anniversary, and various pre-conference Graduate Students, 19 organizers are beginning to plan their Diversity/Climate individual meetings. SPSP will be arriving shortly after Tampa’s Gasparilla Pirate Festival—the Mardi Gras of Jonas on Ethics and TV 8 The official Call for Submissions will be on- Tampa—which is typically held on the last line in May; see p. -
Heuristics and Biases the Psychology of Intuitive Judgment. In
P1: FYX/FYX P2: FYX/UKS QC: FCH/UKS T1: FCH CB419-Gilovich CB419-Gilovich-FM May 30, 2002 12:3 HEURISTICS AND BIASES The Psychology of Intuitive Judgment Edited by THOMAS GILOVICH Cornell University DALE GRIFFIN Stanford University DANIEL KAHNEMAN Princeton University iii P1: FYX/FYX P2: FYX/UKS QC: FCH/UKS T1: FCH CB419-Gilovich CB419-Gilovich-FM May 30, 2002 12:3 published by the press syndicate of the university of cambridge The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom cambridge university press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 477 Williamstown, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcon´ 13, 28014, Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org C Cambridge University Press 2002 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2002 Printed in the United States of America Typeface Palatino 9.75/12.5 pt. System LATEX2ε [TB] A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data Heuristics and biases : the psychology of intuitive judgment / edited by Thomas Gilovich, Dale Griffin, Daniel Kahneman. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-521-79260-6 – ISBN 0-521-79679-2 (pbk.) 1. Judgment. 2. Reasoning (Psychology) 3. Critical thinking. I. Gilovich, Thomas. II. Griffin, Dale III. Kahneman, Daniel, 1934– BF447 .H48 2002 153.4 – dc21 2001037860 ISBN 0 521 79260 6 hardback ISBN 0 521 79679 2 paperback iv P1: FYX/FYX P2: FYX/UKS QC: FCH/UKS T1: FCH CB419-Gilovich CB419-Gilovich-FM May 30, 2002 12:3 Contents List of Contributors page xi Preface xv Introduction – Heuristics and Biases: Then and Now 1 Thomas Gilovich and Dale Griffin PART ONE. -
Tribal Social Instincts and the Cultural Evolution of Institutions to Solve Collective Action Problems
UC Riverside Cliodynamics Title Tribal Social Instincts and the Cultural Evolution of Institutions to Solve Collective Action Problems Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/981121t8 Journal Cliodynamics, 3(1) Authors Richerson, Peter Henrich, Joe Publication Date 2012 DOI 10.21237/C7clio3112453 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Cliodynamics: the Journal of Theoretical and Mathematical History Tribal Social Instincts and the Cultural Evolution of Institutions to Solve Collective Action Problems Peter Richerson University of California-Davis Joseph Henrich University of British Columbia Human social life is uniquely complex and diverse. Much of that complexity and diversity arises from culturally transmitted ideas, values and skills that underpin the operation of social norms and institutions that structure our social life. Considerable theoretical and empirical work has been devoted to the role of cultural evolutionary processes in the evolution of social norms and institutions. The most persistent controversy has been over the role of cultural group selection and gene- culture coevolution in early human populations during Pleistocene. We argue that cultural group selection and related cultural evolutionary processes had an important role in shaping the innate components of our social psychology. By the Upper Paleolithic humans seem to have lived in societies structured by institutions, as do modern populations living in small-scale societies. The most ambitious attempts to test these ideas have been the use of experimental games in field settings to document human similarities and differences on theoretically interesting dimensions. These studies have documented a huge range of behavior across populations, although no societies so far examined follow the expectations of selfish rationality.