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Darwin's mistake: explaining the discontinuity between human and nonhuman minds
Derek C Penn1, Keith J Holyoak, Daniel J Povinelli
1Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. dcpenn@ucla.edu
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|May 16, 2008
Summary
Human and nonhuman minds show a profound discontinuity, particularly in higher-order cognitive abilities like symbolic reasoning. This gap in cognitive capabilities is deeper than language or culture alone can explain.
Area of Science:
- Comparative cognitive psychology
- Cognitive science
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Dominant view: human/nonhuman mind similarities outweigh differences.
- Darwin (1871) suggested differences are quantitative, not qualitative.
- Previous research focused on biological continuity, overlooking cognitive divergence.
Purpose of the Study:
- Challenge the "degree, not kind" view of human/nonhuman cognition.
- Identify and explain the profound cognitive discontinuity between human and nonhuman minds.
- Propose a representational-level explanation for cognitive differences.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of cognitive capabilities.
- Examination of "physical symbol system" (PSS) approximations.
- Review of existing literature on animal cognition and symbolic processing.
Main Results:
- Human and nonhuman minds exhibit a significant discontinuity in higher-order, symbolic-relational capabilities.
- This symbolic-relational gap is pervasive across cognitive domains.
- Language and culture alone do not fully account for the observed cognitive differences.
Conclusions:
- Darwin's view on cognitive continuity is mistaken.
- A representational-level difference underlies the human/nonhuman cognitive gap.
- Symbolic-connectionist models offer insights into the mechanisms of this cognitive discontinuity.
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