Maturationally Natural Cognition and Radically Counter-Intuitive Science Robert N. McCauley Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture Emory University

Maturationally Natural Cognition and Radically Counter-Intuitive Science 1.philosophical and psychological preliminaries 2.maturationally natural cognition 3.radically counter-intuitive science 4.maturationally natural influences and the implications of their persistence

part 1: philosophical preliminaries: two comments on theory ladenness 1. whatever they are, scientific theories are selective 2. two varieties of theory ladenness (at least)

part 1: psychological preliminaries: dual processing theories reflective vs. intuitive off-line on-line conscious unconscious deliberate automatic slow fast verbal non-verbal (mostly)

part 1: psychological preliminaries intuitive cognition specific beliefs or actions that arise automatically and instantaneously and are held or done without reflection 1. general, commonsense notion 2. presumed sound, though underdetermined 3. declarative and procedural 4. two sources

cognition intuitive (cognitively natural) practiced (“second nature”) maturationalreflective

part 2: maturationally natural cognition 1. address basic problems 2. appear early 3. define normal development 4. do not depend on any culturally distinctive support 5. constitute domain specific systems at the end, if not at the beginning 6. engage when triggered by distinctive cues

part 2: maturationally natural cognition some candidate domains language face recognition

part 2: maturationally natural cognition some candidate domains language face recognition basic physics of solid objects theory of mind contamination avoidance

part 3: radically counter-intuitive science the sciences reliably advance (usually sooner rather than later) representations that are radically counter-intuitive i.e., these representations depart drastically from the deliverances of our maturationally natural perceptual and cognitive systems

1582 illustration of impetus theory by Walther Hermann Ryff which divides the trajectory into 3 phases

part 4: maturationally natural influences and the implications of their persistence re: Churchland’s project (1) for reflective theories superseding implicit, maturationally natural theories (especially with regard to perception) (2) for achieving widespread scientific expertise -- persisting (intrusive!) maturationally natural (theoretical) assumptions -- difficulties assessing probabilistic evidence -- inferential foibles -- confirmation bias

part 4: maturationally natural influences and the implications of their persistence re: Fodor’s project for a theory-neutral, observational foundation of scientific knowledge “... insensitivity to local alterations in beliefs and utilities is... a necessary condition for the theory neutrality of observation.... what seems to be required is just enough diachronic encapsulation to allow perceptual consensus to survive the effects of the kinds of differences of learning histories that observers actually exhibit.” Fodor, J. (1988). “A Reply to Churchland’s “Perceptual Plasticity and Theoretical Neutrality,”” Philosophy of Science 55, 192.

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part 4: maturationally natural influences and the implications of their persistence perceptual input systems :: linguistic input system Both their development and ultimate forms may be substantially shaped by cultural inputs. Thus: 1. they are theory laden 2. they are not uniform