Tinkering with cognitive gadgets: Cultural evolutionary psychology meets active inference

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Benjamin Badcock ◽  
Axel Constant ◽  
Maxwell James Désormeau Ramstead
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Innovative Research ◽  
Cognitive Faculties ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Cognitive Gadgets offers a new, convincing perspective on the origins of our distinctive cognitive faculties, coupled with a clear, innovative research program. Although we broadly endorse Heyes’ ideas, we raise some concerns about her characterisation of evolutionary psychology and the relationship between biology and culture, before discussing the potential fruits of examining cognitive gadgets through the lens of active inference.

Rethinking Cultural Evolutionary Psychology

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 477-492
Author(s):  
Ryan Nichols ◽  
Henrike Moll ◽  
Jacob L. Mackey
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
Alternative Theories

AbstractThis essay discusses Cecilia Heyes’ groundbreaking new book Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking. Heyes’ point of departure is the claim that current theories of cultural evolution fail adequately to make a place for the mind. Heyes articulates a cognitive psychology of cultural evolution by explaining how eponymous “cognitive gadgets,” such as imitation, mindreading and language, mental technologies, are “tuned” and “assembled” through social interaction and cultural learning. After recapitulating her explanations for the cultural and psychological origins of these gadgets, we turn to criticisms. Among those, we find Heyes’ use of evolutionary theory confusing on several points of importance; alternative theories of cultural evolution, especially those of the Tomasello group and of Boyd, Richerson and Henrich, are misrepresented; the book neglects joint attention and other forms of intersubjectivity in its explanation of the origins of cognitive gadgets; and, whereas Heyes accuses other theories of being “mindblind,” we find her theory ironically other-blind and autistic in character.

The Linguistic Thought of Friedrich August Wolf: A reconsideration of the relationship between classical philology and linguistics in the 19th century

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 35-60
Author(s):  
Dag T. Haug
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Comparative Linguistics ◽  
Classical Philology ◽  
Historical Comparative ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Linguistics ◽  
Philosophical Grammar

This paper examines the linguistic thought of Friedrich August Wolf (1759–1824), the founder of modern classical philology, and tries to show that contrary to what is commonly assumed, grammar played an important role in his research program for a ‘science of antiquity’. Specifically, Wolf encouraged the study of philosophical grammar, which was the leading linguistic paradigm in Germany around 1800, and he developed an original theory of tense within this methodological framework. But philosophical grammar would appear obsolete soon after the establishment of historical-comparative linguistics and this, it is argued, is an important reason for the enmities in the first half of the 19th century between Indo-Europeanists and the Classical scholars who stayed within the old linguistic paradigm.

scholarly journals Medical Genetic Research on the Amish: From Genetic Tourism to Community Health Centers

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shoshana Tell
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Community Health Centers ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Health Centers ◽  
Medical Genetic ◽  
Research Paradigms ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

In the 1960s, Victor McKusick inaugurated the Amish medicalgenetic tourist research program in order to learn moreabout the relationship between genes and human disease.However, Amish mistrust of outsiders and frustration at beingexploited by tourism, as well as other cultural and historicalfactors, would ultimately result in the transformation of medicalgenetic research paradigms from genetic tourism to communityhealth centers. Over time, Amish community healthclinics, partially funded by the Amish themselves, were establishedin Pennsylvania and Ohio. These clinics, which are longtermcenters dedicated to primary care and advanced medicalgenetic research, give the Amish a sense of agency. Doctorsfrom these clinics have achieved numerous medical breakthroughsthat were possible only as a result of their long-termcare of patients. This transition to Amish community healthclinics illustrates the successes science and medicine canachieve when they are sensitive to unique population needs.

scholarly journals Perspectivas darwinistas sobre la mente y la conducta humanas: alcances, limitaciones e implicancias educativas

2019 ◽  
pp. 187
Author(s):  
Leonardo González Galli
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Research Program ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Scientific Theories ◽  
Ideological Bias ◽  
Educational Implications ◽  
Ronald Giere ◽  
And Behavior

In this work I characterize Darwinian approaches to human behavior and mind, especially evolutionary psychology, and analyze the main criticisms that these approaches have received. To this end I resort to Jean Marie Schaeffer’s criticism of the thesis of human exceptionality and the semantic perspective of scientific theories of Ronald Giere. I conclude that the main criticisms (reductionism, determinism and ideological bias) are not applicable to evolutionary psychology as a research program. I also conclude that it cannot be held a priori that the Darwinian approach is not applicable to the human mind and behavior. Finally, I discuss some educational implications of these debates.

Host-directed therapies targeting the tuberculosis granuloma stroma

2020 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elinor Hortle ◽  
Stefan H Oehlers
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Host Cell ◽  
Protective Immunity ◽  
Intracellular Survival ◽  
Granuloma Formation ◽  
Clinical Use ◽  
Innovative Research ◽  
Cell Processes ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACT Mycobacteria have co-evolved with their hosts resulting in pathogens adept at intracellular survival. Pathogenic mycobacteria actively manipulate infected macrophages to drive granuloma formation while subverting host cell processes to create a permissive niche. Granuloma residency confers phenotypic antimicrobial resistance by physically excluding or neutralising antibiotics. Host-directed therapies (HDTs) combat infection by restoring protective immunity and reducing immunopathology independent of pathogen antimicrobial resistance status. This review covers innovative research that has discovered ‘secondary’ symptoms of infection in the granuloma stroma are actually primary drivers of infection and that relieving these stromal pathologies with HDTs benefits the host. Advances in our understanding of the relationship between tuberculosis and the host vasculature, haemostatic system and extracellular matrix reorganisation are discussed. Preclinical and clinical use of HDTs against these stromal targets are summarised.

Literarische Erkenntnis?

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-40
Author(s):  
Christoph Demmerling
Keyword(s):  
Fine Arts ◽  
Propositional Knowledge ◽  
The Third ◽  
Cognitive Faculties ◽  
The Relationship

Anhand der Frage, ob fiktionale Texte Wissen enthalten können, erörtert der Beitrag das Verhältnis von Kunst und Erkenntnis bzw. Ästhetik und Erkenntnistheorie. Der erste Teil erinnert an die traditionelle Bestimmung der Ästhetik durch Baumgarten. Als Theorie der unteren Erkenntnisvermögen und als Theorie der schönen Künste werden der Ästhetik zwei Aufgaben zugemutet: eine Beschreibung der unteren Erkenntnisvermögen und deren Ausbildung und Verbesserung. Durch die Auseinandersetzung mit ästhetischen Objekten im weitesten Sinne können wir etwas lernen, indem die sinnlichen Vermögen auf besondere Weise involviert und als Fähigkeiten verfeinert werden. Der zweite Teil des Beitrags macht deutlich, dass die Lektüre fiktionaler Texte das Wahrnehmungsvermögen verfeinert, außerdem die Fähigkeiten der Aufmerksamkeit, Vorstellungskraft und Phantasie bildet. Der dritte Teil diskutiert den Begriff des nicht-propositionalen Wissens in seiner Relevanz für fiktionale Literatur und Erkenntnistheorie. Guided by the question of whether fictional texts can contain knowledge, the article discusses the relationship between art and knowledge or aesthetics and epistemology. The first part recalls the traditional characterization of aesthetics by Baumgarten: as a theory of the lower cognitive faculties and as a theory of the fine arts, aesthetics is expected to perform two tasks. It has to describe the lower cognitive faculties and it has to train and to improve them. While engaging with aesthetic objects in the broadest sense, we can learn something by involving the sensual faculties in a special way and refining them as skills. The second part of the article argues that reading fictional texts improves the perceptive faculties, as well as the skills of attention and imagination. The third part discusses the notion of non-propositional knowledge and its relevance to fictional literature as well as epistemology.

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