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Subjective selection requires objective constraints

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2026

Mats Haraldsen Open the ORCID record for Mats Haraldsen [Opens in a new window] ,
Sarah Bro Trasmundi Open the ORCID record for Sarah Bro Trasmundi [Opens in a new window]  and
Edward Baggs Open the ORCID record for Edward Baggs [Opens in a new window]
Mats Haraldsen*
Affiliation:
Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages, Faculty of Humanities, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway mats.haraldsen@ilos.uio.no
Sarah Bro Trasmundi
Affiliation:
Department of Culture and Language, Faculty of Humanities, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark sarbro@sdu.dk
Edward Baggs
Affiliation:
Department of Culture and Language, Faculty of Humanities, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark sarbro@sdu.dk Danish Institute for Advanced Study, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark ebag@sdu.dk
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

We are sympathetic to Singh’s argument for ascribing a central role to agency within cultural evolution. In our opinion, however, his account oversimplifies the relation between agents and their environments, treating goals merely as internal cognitive states. Work in cognitive ethnography reveals that goals emerge in interaction with, and are constrained by, physical and social features of the environment.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e295
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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