Cognitive Adaptation

By Jay Schulkin

Book Overview

Cognitive Adaptation: A Pragmatist Perspective argues that there is a fundamental link between cognitive/neural systems and evolution that underlies human activity. One important result is that the line between nature and culture and scientific and humanistic inquiry is quite permeable - the two are fairly continuous with each other. Two concepts figure importantly in our human ascent: agency and animacy. The first is the recognition of another person as having beliefs, desires, and a sense of experience. The second term is the recognition of an object as alive, a piece of biology. Both reflect a predilection in our cognitive architecture that is fundamental to an evolving, but fragile, sense of humanity. The book further argues for a regulative norm of self-corrective inquiry, an appreciation of the hypothetical nature of all knowledge. Schulkin's perspective is rooted in contemporary behavioral and cognitive neuroscience.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521517915
• ISBN13: 9780521517911
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"