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Towards a bottom-up perspective on animal and human cognition
Ist Teil von
Trends in cognitive sciences, 2010-05, Vol.14 (5), p.201-207
Ort / Verlag
Amsterdam: Elsevier Ltd
Erscheinungsjahr
2010
Link zum Volltext
Quelle
MEDLINE
Beschreibungen/Notizen
Over the last few decades, comparative cognitive research has focused on the pinnacles of mental evolution, asking all-or-nothing questions such as which animals (if any) possess a theory of mind, culture, linguistic abilities, future planning, and so on. Research programs adopting this top-down perspective have often pitted one taxon against another, resulting in sharp dividing lines. Insight into the underlying mechanisms has lagged behind. A dramatic change in focus now seems to be under way, however, with increased appreciation that the basic building blocks of cognition might be shared across a wide range of species. We argue that this bottom-up perspective, which focuses on the constituent capacities underlying larger cognitive phenomena, is more in line with both neuroscience and evolutionary biology.