Evolutionary Precursors of Negation in Non-Human Reasoning
Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter
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The Oxford Handbook of Negation. ed. / Viviane Deprez; M. Teresa Espinal. Oxford University Press, 2020. p. 577-588 (Oxford Handbooks).
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TY - CHAP
T1 - Evolutionary Precursors of Negation in Non-Human Reasoning
AU - Bohn, Manuel
AU - Call, Josep
AU - Völter, Christoph J.
PY - 2020/5/7
Y1 - 2020/5/7
N2 - Logical reasoning has been argued to crucially depend on linguistic or symbolic representations. This suggests that animals are incapable of negation. Nevertheless, animals have been found to behave in ways that suggest reasoning by negation. This chapter discusses the findings from the animal cognition literature in light of theoretical accounts of negation based on propositional and non-propositional thought. Instead of engaging in negation proper, animals might engage in proto-negation, that is reasoning based on contrary pairs instead of negated propositions. While most of the current findings might be explained in terms of proto-negation, an accumulation of evidence might eventually render negation proper a more parsimonious explanation of the evidence. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future avenues of research and a discussion of the role of negation in the evolution of human reasoning.
AB - Logical reasoning has been argued to crucially depend on linguistic or symbolic representations. This suggests that animals are incapable of negation. Nevertheless, animals have been found to behave in ways that suggest reasoning by negation. This chapter discusses the findings from the animal cognition literature in light of theoretical accounts of negation based on propositional and non-propositional thought. Instead of engaging in negation proper, animals might engage in proto-negation, that is reasoning based on contrary pairs instead of negated propositions. While most of the current findings might be explained in terms of proto-negation, an accumulation of evidence might eventually render negation proper a more parsimonious explanation of the evidence. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future avenues of research and a discussion of the role of negation in the evolution of human reasoning.
KW - Psychology
KW - negation
KW - propositional thought
KW - evolution
KW - animal cognition
KW - metacognition
KW - social cognition
KW - communication
KW - negation
KW - propositional thought
KW - evolution
KW - animal cognition
KW - metacognition
KW - social cognition
KW - communication
UR - https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/41364/chapter-abstract/352594876?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=true
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/d8b6fd3f-416d-3686-940e-c51422e3d0c3/
U2 - 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198830528.013.40
DO - 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198830528.013.40
M3 - Chapter
SN - 9780198830528
T3 - Oxford Handbooks
SP - 577
EP - 588
BT - The Oxford Handbook of Negation
A2 - Deprez, Viviane
A2 - Espinal, M. Teresa
PB - Oxford University Press
ER -