PHIL 3870 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5-10: Upper Paleolithic, Ecological Niche, Homo Heidelbergensis
Document Summary
Ch 9 homo heidelbergensis (hh) and modern thinking. Hh lived much closer to our time than the first homo erectus: quality of evidence involving cognition make them seem much more modern. Ch 11 the second major leap in cognition: enhanced working memory and the evolution of modern thinking. Evidence that the evolution of derived features of modern human cognition included two distinct steps away from the archaic patterns established by hh and perfected by neanderthals: step 1: Enhanced working memory capacity that powered executive function ability. These enabled complex contingency planning, abstract reasoning with superordinate categories, and innovation. His argument consists of three moves: 1) makes distinguishes between mechanical agency on physical objects and social agency on conspecifics. Whence the contrast between the mind of a mechanical doer or physical worker and that of a socializer. Reflexive thinking (an outcome of this escalation) shows signs of having evolved under social pressures on interpretation and mental rehearsal.
