Causality and Cognition

Culture and Cognition: Tools for a Causal Analysis

Matt GersPhilosophyVUWAWCBR, 2010

Cultural Context InfluencesHuman Minds

(Re!-tooled Mind)

(Environmentally Supported)

(Extended Cognition)

Minimal Sense of Cause

(Min): X causes Y if and only if there are circumstances such that if some (single) intervention that changes the value of X (and no other variable) were to occur, then Y or the probability distribution of Y would change.

Probabilistic Causal Explanation

1. Pr(E|Cexpl) ≈ Pr(E|C)

2. Pr(E|Cexpl ≈ Pr(E|Cexpl∧Ck) for all Ck

Causes : Stable Causes

Causes : Specific Causes

Causes : Proportional Causes

Foundational Concepts (Cognitive Tools)

Education / Language / Writing Systems

BRAINS

Cognitive Trait

Critical Thinking Course

Informal Experiences

Neurons / Neural Networks

Proteins

Genes

Membranes

Amino Acid Sequences

A State-Space Model of Cause

Stable >

En

able

r >

Spec

ific

>

CAG Repeats and chorea

Dysbindin and high psychometric tests

Pen and Paper and long division

Critical Thinking Course and high psychometric tests