This book examines philosophical and scientific implications of Neodarwinism relative to recent empirical data. It develops explanations of social behavior and cognition through analysis of mental capabilities and consideration of ethical issues. It includes debate within cognitive science among explanations of social and moral phenomena from philosophy, evolutionary and cognitive psychology, neurobiology, linguistics, and computer science. The series
Cognitive Science provides an original corpus of scholarly work that makes explicit the import of cognitive-science research for philosophical analysis. Topics include the nature, structure, and justification of knowledge, cognitive architectures and development, brain-mind theories, and consciousness.
Mirera BELIL: Foreword
Francisco TOMÁS VERT: Foreword
Oscar VILARROYA, Antoni BULBENA, Joaquim COLL, and Adolf TOBEÑA: Foreword: From Dialogue to “The Social Brain” Chair
Acknowledgments
Francesc FORN I ARGIMON: Introduction
Part One: Learning Processes of Social Values Núria SEBASTIÁN GALLÉS: Learning: A Brief Introduction from the Neurosciences
Daniel C. DENNETT: Can Unselfishness Be Taught?
Katherine NELSON: Learning from a Bio-cultural Developmental Perspective
Eric BREDO:
When is Ethical Learning?
Emily A. PARKER and Lawrence W. BARSALOU: Perspectiveless Certainty in Socio-Cultural-Political Beliefs
Stevan HARNAD: Spare Me the Complements: An Immoderate Proposal for Eliminating the “We/They” Category Boundary
Part Two: The Neurobiology and/or Psychology of Moral Thought Adolf TOBEÑA: Benumbing and Moral Exaltation in Deadly Martyrs: A View from Neuroscience
Scott ATRAN: Religion, Suicide, Terrorism, and the Moral Foundation of the World
Shaun NICHOLS: On the Psychological Diversity of Moral Insensitivity
William A. ROTTSCHAEFER: The Benumbing Moral Indifference of the Wealthy: What Does it Take to Motivate the Fulfillment of a Minimal Norm of Economic Justice?
Félix OVEJERO: Naturalistic Perspectives on Morality, Limits, and Possibilities
Antoni GOMILA: Suicide Terrorists, Neuroscience, and Morality: Taking Complexities into Account
David PREMACK: Foundations of Morality in the Infant
Part Three: Evolutionary Roots of Social Behavior Arcadi NAVARRO: Conflict and Cooperation in Human Affairs
Sandro NANNINI: A Comment on “Conflict and Cooperation in Human Affairs” by Arcadi Navarro
F. John ODLING-SMEE: Cultural Niche Construction and Human Evolution
Camilo JOSÉ CELA CONDE, Miguel ÁNGEL CAPÓ, Marcos NADAL, and Carlos RAMOS: What Do We Know of the Social Brain?
Merlin DONALD: Evolutionary Origins of the Social Brain
Luc STEELS: Language Originated in Social Brains
Derek BICKERTON: The Ape in the Anthill
Robert GINSBERG: Human Cognition and the Recognition of Humanity
About the Contributors
Index