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Adaptive self-directed misbeliefs: More than just a rarefied phenomenon?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2010

Tadeusz W. Zawidzki
Tadeusz W. Zawidzki
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052. [email protected]://www.gwu.edu/~philosop/faculty/Zawidzki.cfm
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Abstract

I argue that adaptive, self-directed misbeliefs are likely more prevalent and important than McKay & Dennett (M&D) claim. Humans often falsely interpret their own behavior in terms of culturally afforded categories. Despite their falsity, such self-interpretations are often adaptive because of our disposition to behave consistently with them. This makes us easier to interpret by similarly enculturated interactants.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 32 , Issue 6 , December 2009 , pp. 540 - 541
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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