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Neural Reuse and the Nature of Evolutionary Constraints

Rathkopf, Charles (2020) Neural Reuse and the Nature of Evolutionary Constraints. [Preprint]

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Abstract

In humans, the reuse of neural structure is particularly pronounced at short, task-relevant timescales. Here, an argument is developed for the claim that facts about neural reuse at task-relevant timescales conflict with at least one characterization of neural reuse at an evolutionary timescale. It is then argued that, in order to resolve the conflict, we must conceptualize evolutionary-scale reuse more abstractly than has been generally recognized. The final section of the paper explores the relationship between neural reuse and human nature. It is argued that neural reuse is not well-described as a process that constrains our present cognitive capacities. Instead, it liberates those capacities from the ancestral tethers that might otherwise have constrained them.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Rathkopf, Charlescharles.rathkopf@gmail.com0000-0001-8998-2220
Keywords: neural reuse, neuronal recycling, evolution, constraint, representational content, human nature
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Biology > Function/Teleology
Specific Sciences > Neuroscience > Cognitive Neuroscience
Depositing User: Dr. Charles Rathkopf
Date Deposited: 20 May 2020 01:13
Last Modified: 20 May 2020 01:13
Item ID: 17195
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Biology > Function/Teleology
Specific Sciences > Neuroscience > Cognitive Neuroscience
Date: May 2020
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/17195

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