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Innateness in Mind

Expected online publication date:  22 June 2026

Peter Carruthers
Affiliation:
University of Maryland

Summary

This Element focuses on contemporary forms of nativism (belief in innateness), which mostly concern the existence of domain-specific learning mechanisms with innate structure and content. After sketching some innate capacities that are widely believed to be shared with other animals, the Element thereafter discusses a number of (alleged) distinctively-human ones. One concerns a faculty of language, another our capacity for representing the mental states of others (and derivatively, ourselves). It then turns to discuss some proposed innate adaptations that support culture. These include a number of learning biases, as well as affective learning mechanisms that enable swift acquisition of cultural values. The final two sections then discuss 'tribal psychology.' This may include an innate disposition to stereotype social groups as well as innate 'tribal' motivations (both positive and negative). The over-arching thesis of the Element is that human nature might best be thought of as culture-enabling nature.

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Type
Element
Information
Online ISBN: 9781009506076
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Accessibility standard: Unknown

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Innateness in Mind
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Innateness in Mind
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