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Supporting the weight of the elephant in the room: Technical intelligence propped up by social cognition and language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2020

Alex Thornton Open the ORCID record for Alex Thornton [Opens in a new window] ,
Francesca Happé Open the ORCID record for Francesca Happé [Opens in a new window]  and
Christine A. Caldwell Open the ORCID record for Christine A. Caldwell [Opens in a new window]
Alex Thornton
Affiliation:
Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, PenrynTR10 9FE, [email protected]://www.wildcognitionresearch.com/
Francesca Happé
Affiliation:
Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, LondonSE5 8AF, [email protected]://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/francesca-happe
Christine A. Caldwell
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, StirlingFK9 4LA, UK. [email protected]://sites.google.com/site/christineannacaldwell/
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Abstract

We consider the evolutionary plausibility of Osiurak and Reynaud's (O&R) arguments. We argue that technical reasoning is not quite the magic bullet that O&R assume, and instead propose a co-evolutionary account of the interplay between technical reasoning and social learning, with language emerging as a vital issue neglected in O&R's account.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 43 , 2020 , e179
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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