ANTH 7 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Standard Social Science Model, Tabula Rasa, Mind
Document Summary
Old view of the human mind: blank slate or standard social science model. Sssm: nothing in mind that was not first in the senses (plato) M: (cid:373)e(cid:374)tal (cid:272)o(cid:374)te(cid:374)t a total produ(cid:272)t of the e(cid:374)(cid:448)iro(cid:374)(cid:373)e(cid:374)t: (cid:862)lear(cid:374)ed(cid:863) (tabula rasa/blank slate) Sssm: learning mechanisms are few, content independent (work regardless of the content), and general purpose in design. Chomsky was the first to propose that we have preexisting knowledge about grammar. Learning mechanisms are not just things that we learn, but they already exist. Instead of mind having one or a few apps for everything: learning, intelligence, etc. We have hundreds of apps- neural programs specialized to solve ancestral adaptive problems (e. g. , spider bites) These evolved in the past by natural selection. They are species-universal equipment we all come equipped with. Identify ancestral adaptive problem: e. g. , venomous spiders; use of threat of harm to get stuff; defense against predators;
