Culture and Cognition: Evolutionary Perspectives

371 Pages·2011·11.005 MB·English

by  Bradley Franks

Culture and Cognition
99778800223300__000088889922__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd ii 22//44//22001111 11::4433::2211 AAMM
Also by Bradley Franks
The Social Psychology of Communication (editor with D. W. Hook and
M. B. Bauer)
99778800223300__000088889922__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd iiii 22//44//22001111 11::4433::2222 AAMM
Culture and Cognition
Evolutionary Perspectives
Bradley Franks
Senior Lecturer in Psychology, London School of Economics and
Political Science, UK
99778800223300__000088889922__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd iiiiii 22//44//22001111 11::4433::2222 AAMM
© Bradley Franks 2011
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted
save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,
Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2011 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978–0–230–00889–2 hardback
ISBN 978–0–230–00877–9 paperback
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing
processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the
country of origin.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne
99778800223300__000088889922__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd iivv 22//44//22001111 11::4433::2233 AAMM
For Kate and Dominic ... my essential circles of interdependence
99778800223300__000088889922__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd vv 22//44//22001111 11::4433::2233 AAMM
99778800223300__000088889922__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd vvii 22//44//22001111 11::4433::2233 AAMM
Contents
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction 1
1 The Circularity Problem and Social Constructionist Views 6
Mind and culture: the Circularity Problem 7
Social Construction, relativism and
the emphasis on the cultural 10
Varieties of Social Constructionism 12
Challenges for Social Constructionism in general 17
Challenges for Social Constructionism and the mind 19
Challenges for Social Constructionism and culture 25
The value of Social Constructionism 29
Conclusions 31
2 The Circularity Problem and Naturalistic Views 32
Naturalism, universals and the emphasis on the cognitive 32
(Non-) problems of naturalism regarding mind and culture 36
Reductionism 36
Individualism 41
Other non-problems 44
Integrating social construction and naturalism 46
Integrating social construction and naturalism and
addressing the circularity problem 50
Conclusions 54
3 Massive Modularity and Psychological Essentialism 55
Massive Modularity 55
A sketch of Massive Modularity 55
Empirical fi ndings and Massive Modularity 59
Folk biology 63
Folk sociology 69
Conclusions 74
4 Explanatory Approaches: Cultural and
Cognitive Environments and the Evolutionary Past 75
Introduction 75
What might the EEA be? 76
vii
99778800223300__000088889922__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd vviiii 22//44//22001111 11::4433::2233 AAMM
viii Contents
Critiques of the EEA concept 78
Empirical limitations 78
Empirical contradictions 80
The EEA as theoretical construct 84
Responses to challenges to the EEA concept 91
Deny a role for the EEA (and adaptations) 91
Reframe the nature and role of the EEA 91
Conclusions 95
5 Massive Modularity and Adaptations 97
Problems of modules as mental faculties 97
Problems of modules as adaptations 100
The nature of modules versus the nature of adaptations 101
Modular distinctions and adaptive functions 116
Adaptations again 118
Adaptation by natural selection and
other evolutionary possibilities 120
Implications for representations and adaptations 125
Conclusions 127
6 Representation, Motivation and Affect 129
Representation producers and consumers:
representation-of and representation-for 129
Motivation, affect and cognition: inward-facing embodiment 135
Embodiment in mind 136
Inward-facing embodiment: affect 137
Motivation, affect and cognition: egocentrism 150
Indication, representation and adaption 153
Conclusions 154
7 Mind, Situation and Representation 156
Context and fl exibility in cognition 156
Modularity, context and fl exibility 158
Flexible modularity: fl exibility within module operation 159
Flexible modularity: modularization 161
Flexible modularity: module orchestration 166
Context effects: extended cognition 168
External memory and extended thought 169
Indication, affordance and extendedness 173
Decoupled representations 181
Evolution and extended cognition 187
Conclusions 188
99778800223300__000088889922__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd vviiiiii 22//44//22001111 11::4433::2233 AAMM
Contents ix
8 Culture, Embodiment and Extended Mind 189
Culture and mind: affordances, indication and representation 189
General cultural affordances 189
Dialogical affordances and cultural affordances 191
Extendedness, niches and resources for thinking 198
Niches 199
Folk theories and resources for thinking and acting 202
Culture, decoupling, translationism and transformationism 206
Culture again 209
Joint and individual intentions 209
Culture again again 212
Culture and social construction again 214
Conclusions 215
9 Varieties of Theory of Mind, Affordances,
Indication and Culture 216
Introduction: theory of mind and culture 216
Aspects of theory of mind 218
Embodiment, egocentrism and theory of mind 222
Affect, subjectivity and theory of mind 222
Affordances, indication and theory of mind 229
Egocentrism and theory of mind 234
Conclusions 238
10 Adaptations, Culture and External Theory of Mind 239
Adaptations for theory of mind 239
Culture and external theory of mind 242
External theory of mind 243
External theory of mind and transformationist
relations between mind and culture 252
Conclusions 255
11 Cultural Evolution, Cultural Transmission and
Cultural Patterns 256
Culture once more 256
Cultural evolution 260
Biological adaptations that are implicated in culture:
imitation and related notions 262
Cultural adaptations: external theory of mind 269
External theory of mind: adaptive or
maladaptive cultural change? 271
Cultural patterns 273
Systematicity of culture: holism and the frame problem 273
99778800223300__000088889922__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd iixx 22//44//22001111 11::4433::2244 AAMM