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SUMMARY:Learning (to learn) from others - Richard Moore (University of War
 wick)
DTSTART:20220310T153000Z
DTEND:20220310T170000Z
UID:TALK168203@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Richard Staley
DESCRIPTION:In this talk I argue that two skills identified as central to 
 human cognitive uniqueness – pointing and imitation – may result from 
 a common underlying cognitive shift in human or late hominin history. Whil
 e they are typically argued to be the result of independent adaptations fo
 r cooperative communication and high-fidelity social learning\, I will sug
 gest that there are relatively weak grounds for thinking they derived from
  independent biological changes rather than a single cultural or ecologica
 l change.\n\nI will argue that the development of both pointing comprehens
 ion and imitation likely resulted from an ecological change in our ancestr
 al environment\, which led our ancestors to look to each other\, rather th
 an to their environment\, as sources of information about the world. I'll 
 explain why both ape emulation and pointing failure can be thought of as r
 esulting from individualistic information gathering strategies\, and sketc
 h a scenario that would have made such strategies non-viable. I'll also pr
 esent some empirical data collected by my collaborators and I\, and argue 
 that it supports a new explanation of why great apes are typically poor at
  pointing comprehension – one in line with the hypothesis I develop here
 .\n\nFinally I'll argue that since both pointing and imitation have been t
 rained with enculturation\, they should not be assumed to result from biol
 ogical adaptations in the hominin lineage. I'll discuss scenarios in which
  adaptive explanations ought not to be our first recourse for explaining c
 ognitive development and\, with reference to studies of dog and wolf cogni
 tion\, I'll consider whether patterns of human social attention are likely
  to be the product of adapation.\n\n\n"Book to attend in person":https://w
 ww.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hps-departmental-seminar-tickets-251103215477
LOCATION:Zoom
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