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Knowledge is belief – and shaped by culture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2021

Andrea Bender
Affiliation:
Department of Psychosocial Science & SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen, N-5020Bergen, [email protected]; https://www.uib.no/en/persons/Andrea.Bender
John B. Gatewood
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA18015-3169, USA. [email protected]; https://socanthro.cas.lehigh.edu/content/john-b-gatewood

Abstract

Phillips and colleagues claim that the representation of knowledge is more basic than the representation of belief, presupposing them to be categorically distinct mental states with distinct evolutionary purposes. We argue that the relationship between the two is much more complex, is further shaped by culture and language, and leaves its mark on manifestations of theory of mind and teaching.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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