I think it's an attempt to be invoke the Spandrel idea ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spandrel_(biology) … ) and say that all mental traits are spandrels /1
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...or perhaps that all cognition as a whole is a spandrel? The problem is I don't see where that argument is heading. Even if the case, /2
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I think it is motivated by proving a philosophical point rather than denying evolution. That evo-psych is ad-hoc & therefore not scientific.
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Mm hmm...it's a vague enough argument it can be applied to literally anything. One can always say "such and such may have been a by product"
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Maybe the ability to make tools was a side-effect of evolutionary pressure for building little sculptures to impress potential mates! Etc.
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Stupid hypotheticals.
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The fact is, that kind of "argument" is what breaks from scientific method: if you think X is a spandrel, put forth a specific prediction /1
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that would be true if X were a spandrel and false if it were not, and then test that prediction. That's how you do science.... /2
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Haha, maybe the brain was a by-product of making noses. Noses have to be attached to a skull, and skulls have to be filled with something.
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This whole thread made me laugh in frustration. All before my first coffee.
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There are dinosaurs in Monrovia that specialise in eating hypothetical brainstorming sessions for a few more years as the time passes.
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It doesn't. I'd ask if it were a by-product, of which adaptation would this person be talking about?
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This doesn't makes sense no. The ability to resolve math problems is a by product of adaptations. Innate fear of animals is not.
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