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Articulating cognition and culture in an evolutionary perspectiveold_uid | 183 |
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title | Articulating cognition and culture in an evolutionary perspective |
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start_date | 2005/11/15 |
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schedule | 15h45-17h |
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online | no |
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summary | I propose a reconceptualisation of social and cultural phenomena in terms of causal chains distributing mental representations, practices and artefacts in populations, a reconceptualisation that renders continuous the domain of the cognitive and the social sciences. Cultural phenomena in particular are characterised in terms of causal chains that stabilise contents and forms across a population. I argue against the view that processes of imitation and communication are sufficiently faithful to secure cultural stability. In cultural transmission, domain-specific constructive mechanisms are as important as preservative mechanisms, and, being shared locally or, in some cases, across the species, these constructive mechanisms make a crucial contribution to cultural stability. |
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responsibles | Ruiter |
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