19.10.2023

Bringing cumulative technological culture beyond copying versus reasoning

Colloquium by Prof. Dr. François Osiurak

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Time: Thursday, 19^th October 2023 at 1pm (sharp)

Location: Online via Zoom

Speakers: Prof. Dr. François Osiurak

Title: Bringing cumulative technological culture beyond copying versus reasoning

Abstract:
Cumulative technological culture refers to the increase in the efficiency and complexity of tools and techniques over generations, a phenomenon that could be restricted to humans. The dominant view (also called the cultural niche hypothesis) posits that cumulative technological culture emerges in humans because of our unique ability to learn from each other and not because of specific technical skills. More specifically, the dominant view assumes that (1) high-fidelity transmission plays a crucial role in cumulative technological culture, with the rationale that, when an innovation appears, it will quickly be lost if it cannot be faithfully transmitted to others and (2) high-fidelity transmission can emerge through a so-called high-fidelity copying ability. In other words, individuals can reproduce the tool-use actions performed by others without requiring understanding of how these technologies work, that is, without causal understanding. The cultural niche hypothesis has been mainly developed from evidence from anthropology, economics, and biology. Yet, it is also a cognitive view given the marked cognitive distinction drawn between high-fidelity copying and causal understanding. Surprisingly, this view is relatively silent on the cognitive origins of these abilities, and particularly on the copying ability. Yet, for a cognitive scientist, understanding how people copy the actions of others is not the end, but the beginning of the story. In this talk, I will discuss empirical findings from the cognitive science literature (e.g., experimental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology) that question the distinction between high-fidelity copying and causal understanding and, more particularly, the cognitive reality of the so-called high-fidelity copying ability. These findings suggest that causal understanding is involved in the ability to reproduce tool use actions performed by others and, more generally, in cumulative technological culture. As a result, the main assumptions of the dominant view are misleading, leading us to revisit the (neurocognitive) origin of cumulative technological culture.

Recent references
Osiurak, F., Claidière, N., & Federico, G. (2023). Bringing cumulative technological culture beyond copying versus reasoning. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 27, 30–42.
Osiurak, F., Claidière, N., Bluet, A., Brogniart, J., Lasserre, S., Bonhoure, T., Di Rollo, L., Gorry, N., Polette, Y., Saude, A., Federico, G., Uomini, N., & Reynaud, E. (2022). Technical reasoning bolsters cumulative technological culture through convergent transformations. Science Advances, 8, eabl7446.
Osiurak, F., Lasserre, S., Arbanti, J., Brogniart, J., Bluet, A., Navarro, J., & Reynaud, E. (2021). Technical reasoning is important for cumulative technological culture. Nature Human Behaviour, 5, 1643–1651.
Osiurak, F., & Reynaud, E. (2020). The elephant in the room: What matters cognitively in cumulative technological culture. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 43, e156.

We welcome you all to join us via Zoom.

Zoom link (no password required): https://zoom.us/j/8999550348