Evolution, Development, and Human Social Cognition

Explaining the causal origins of what are taken to be uniquely human capacities for understanding the mind in the first years of life is a primary goal of social cognitive development research, which concerns so called “theory of mind” or “mindreading” skills. We review and discuss particular exampl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inReview of philosophy and psychology Vol. 3; no. 4; pp. 559 - 579
Main Authors Wereha, Tyler J., Racine, Timothy P.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.12.2012
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive development
Cognitive Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Education
Epistemology
Neurosciences
Philosophy
Philosophy of Mind
Philosophy of Science
Developmental Analysis
Evolutionary Developmental Biology
Joint Attention
Evolutionary Explanation
Modern Synthesis
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Summary:Explaining the causal origins of what are taken to be uniquely human capacities for understanding the mind in the first years of life is a primary goal of social cognitive development research, which concerns so called “theory of mind” or “mindreading” skills. We review and discuss particular examples of this research in the context of its underlying evolutionary conceptual framework known as the neo-Darwinian modern synthesis. It is increasingly recognized that the modern synthesis is limited in its neglect of developmental issues. A recent convergence of work from diverse sources, including but not limited to evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) and developmental systems approaches, demonstrate the need for a developmental expansion of modern evolutionary theory. We attempt to show that not only are nativist explanations of early human social cognition vulnerable to the criticisms of this developmental shift in thinking, but that these criticisms also problematize the dominant and more mainstream theories in early social cognitive development research. We conclude by discussing the importance of developmental analysis in understanding the ontogeny of cognitive capacities in individuals as well as species.
ISSN:1878-5158
1878-5166
DOI:10.1007/s13164-012-0115-2