Unisa online - Mini conference discusses cognitive revolution

On Thursday 12 June 2008 a mini conference on cognitive revolution was held at the main campus. Two world renowned speakers delivered presentations at the event, E Thomas Lawson from the Institute of Cognition and Culture: Queen’s University in Belfast and Joel Mort from the Cognitive Systems Branch: US Air Force Research Laboratory.

Lawson presented a paper on Solving the Nature/Nurture Controversy: Perspectives from Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Psychology, while Mort spoke on Evolutionary Precaution.

Lawson spoke about the cognitive revolution being aided and abetted by the emergence of evolutionary psychology, having finally begun to clarify the issues that led to the mistrust between the sciences where he also highlighted the notion of evoked culture.

Mort, on the other hand, presented several disciplines and methods to suggest that distinct cognitive mechanisms are responsible for processing environmental cues that suggest manifestation of threats as well as inferred threats. It is the inferred threats that give rise to precautionary behaviour, or stereotypical behaviour in response to potential danger. There is a proposal that by appealing to evolutionarily bequeathed cognitive universals, precautionary behaviour variability can be explained. Their particular emphasis is on potential danger theme preoccupations, including those embedded in culturally-specific religious rituals.