Mind the gap: a more evolutionarily plausible role for technical reasoning in cumulative technological culture

• Published in: Synthese (Dordrecht) Vol. 199; no. 1-2; pp. 2467 - 2489
• Main Authors: Pain, Ross, Brown, Rachael L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.12.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal cognition; Brain; Culture; Education; Epistemology; Evolution; Hypotheses; Learning; Logic; Metaphysics; Minds in Skilled Performance; Philosophy; Philosophy of Language; Philosophy of Science; Reasoning; Cumulative technological culture; technical reasoning; Cognitive archaeology; Cognitive and cultural evolution; Comparative psychology
• ISSN: 0039-7857; 1573-0964
• DOI: 10.1007/s11229-020-02894-8

How do technologies that are too complex for any one individual to produce (“cumulative technological culture”) arise and persist in human populations? Contra prevailing views focusing on social learning, Osiurak and Reynaud (Behav Brain Sci, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x19003236 ) argue that the primary driver for cumulative technological culture is our ability for technical reasoning. Whilst sympathetic to their overall position, we argue that two specific aspects of their account are implausible: first, that technical reasoning is unique to humans; and second, that technical reasoning is a necessary condition for the production of cumulative technological culture. We then present our own view, which keeps technical reasoning at the forefront but jettisons these conditions. This produces an account of cumulative technological culture that maintains an important role for technical reasoning, whilst being more evolutionarily plausible.