[SydPhil] HPS Research Seminar - Transitions in the Evolution of Cognition

[Debbie Castle]

[https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/OJ-yCwV1vMfGV6ONKiVD6A7?domain=gallery.mailchimp.com]

SCHOOL OF HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
in conjunction with the Sydney Centre for the Foundations of Science
RESEARCH SEMINAR SERIES
SEMESTER ONE 2021

TRANSITIONS IN THE EVOLUTION OF COGNITION
presented by
Andrew B. Barron
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University

[https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/Flj4CxngwOf1R8GXkCvLpJq?domain=mcusercontent.com]
Recent findings in comparative cognition seem to have confused rather than clarified our understanding of the evolution of cognition.  In a world of algebraic bees and smart slime moulds is there any pattern to the evolution of cognitive capacity?  Maynard Smith and Szathmary famously provided a framework for understanding the grand scheme of biological evolution by positing a few major transitions  - such as the origins of chromosomes and multicellular life – which enabled radically different forms of life, new evolutionary options and increased evolvability.  Here we propose that the evolution of cognition can also be comprehended as a series of transitions: each transition being a qualitative change in the structure of information flow within systems.  These transitions transformed the scope of cognitive capacities.  Here we present each transition in terms of system organization.  We discuss the consequences of this perspective for our understanding of the evolution of cognition and the diversity of animal intelligences.

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Unit for History and Philosophy of Science · University of Sydney · Sydney, NSW 2006 · Australia

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