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Modest adaptationism: Muddling through cognition and language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2003

Scott Atran
Affiliation:
CNRS – Institut Jean Nicod, 75007 Paris, France; ISR – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248 satran@umich.edu
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Abstract

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Strong adaptationists would explain complex organic designs as specific adaptations to particular ancestral environments. Weak adaptationists don't assume that complex organic functioning represents evolutionary design in the sense of niche-specific adaptation. For some domain-specific competencies (folkbiology) strong adaptationism is useful, not necessary. With group-level belief systems (religion), strong adaptationism can become spurious pseudo-adaptationism. In other cases (language), weak adaptationism proves productive.

Information

Type
Brief Report
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press