bioculturalapproaches.doc

8/17/2019 BioculturalApproaches.doc

1/41

BIOCULTURAL APPROACHES TO HUMAN

MATERIAL-SYMBOLIC PRACTICES AND

KNOWLEDGE 12.

Eugenia Ramirez-GoicoecheaDepartment of Social and Cultural Anthropology

UNED

Madrid, Spain

eramirez f!of"uned"e!

#en 2013. “Biocultural approaches to mind and knowledge”, in P. Richerson,

P. Csa a ! ". "ergel#, eds. Naturalistic approaches to mind and culture .

$msterdam%Budapest& 'luwer%$kademiai 'iado(

To Tim Ingold,

unpretended master and teacher

A$S%RAC%

&n thi! chapter & claim for a 'io!ocial('iocultural !hift in ho) )e thin* of

human li+e!, affair! and action!, including mind and *no)ledge" & am con+inced of

the nece!!ity of a more comprehen!i+e and holi!tic approach to human! a! per!on!

and collecti+itie!, a! !pecial organi!m! entangled in dynamic comple en+ironment!"

ne of the main o'!tacle! for thi! orientation rely on our deeply entrenched

Nature/Culture di+ide that i! the trademar* of our duali!tic tradition of thought, 'oth

in fol* !y!tem! of *no)ledge(practice a! )ell a! in !cience production" %he fir!t part

of my )or* concern! a 'rief account of ho) thi! duali!m i! practiced in

Neodar)inian thin*ing, a! an hegemonic practice and theory in the !o-called .ife

Science!, a! )ell a! in the Social Science!, e!pecially in Social and Cultural

/ 0rd +er!ion" riginal pu'li!hed in C" 1l2h, G" C!i'ra and 1" Richer!on, ed!" Naturalistic approaches to culture "$udape!t3 A*ad2miai 4iad5"2 %hi! paper 'elong! to a per!onal re!earch programme & !tarted in /667 than*! to the genero!ity of my Uni+er!ity, and theS1S Dpt", the Social Anthropology Dpt" and 1em'ro*e College, Uni+er!ity of Cam'ridge #U48" &n different !tage! of thi!re!earch & recei+ed grant! from the Spani!h Mini!try of Education and Science #Dir"Gral" de &n+e!tigaci5n Cient9fica,1R67-06: and 1R;::0-:0008" & al!o 'enefitted from a !a''atical lea+e in the Sy!tematic! .a'oratory #Uni+er!itat de le!&lle! $alear!, Spain8, 1rof" Camilo Cela Conde, dir" & am al!o grateful to G9!li 1umanitie!, European Science ?oundation(Central European Cogniti+eScience A!!ociation($udape!t Uni+er!ity, chaired 'y 1rof" C!a'a 1l2h, @- Sept";://, $alaton+ilago! #>ungary8" Myrecognition goe! al!o to 1rof" C!a'a 1l2h, )ho could not ha+e organi!ed a 'etter )or*!hop, to all participant! and to theES? repre!entati+e! for their intere!ting comment! and di!cu!!ion!"

/


2/41

Anthropology" %hen & mo+e on to propo!e an epi!temology !hift 'a!ed on theorie! of

dynamic, !elf-organi!ed, comple non-linear de+elopmental !y!tem!, )hich & credit

to help in a non-duali!tic encompa!!ing +ie) of )hat and ho) it mean! to 'e#come8

a human 'eing" %hi! reflection lead! the re!t of my contri'ution" =or*ing upon thi!

epi!temic reflection, & try to de-con!truct e!!entiali!ed notion! of Nature , 'oth a!en+ironment and a! underlying architecture! of organi!m!" %he adaptationi!t

programme, uni+er!al! and particular! and the po!tgenomic turn in Sy!tem! $iology

are di!cu!!ed" Ne t come! a reno+ated concept of Culture , not in oppo!ition )ith

$iology" %he neodar)ini!ing of Culture a! a 'ia!ed )ay to Bnaturali!e it, the

anthropogenic origin! of our eco!ocial en+ironment! for li+ing and de+elopment, and

the con!tituti+e role of our material!ym'olic practice! and imagerie! in thi! niche-

'uilding, in )hich 'iological and !ociocultural a!pect! are not ontologically!eparated" A non-reductioni!t non-duali!tic not-o+erlapping biosociocultural

approach, in )hich 1!ychology, >i!tory and 1olitical Economy are al!o integrated,

pro+ide! for a )ider comprehen!i+e and fruitful theoretical frame )hen dealing )ith

comple ity of human li+e! and their doing! in a relational )orld" .a!t 'ut not lea!t,

and in connection )ith the re!t of the paper, )e !ugge!t a non-reductioni!t

interpretation of mental phenomena, 'ut a! em'odied !ituated *no)ledge

e perienced and co-produced through fle i'le di!tri'uted participation in epi!temic

communitie!" A !hift to neuroculture! and neuro!ocial a!pect! of *no)ledge i! al!o

con!idered" ?inally, & re+ie) !ome epi!temological and political condition! for true

interdi!ciplinarity and ad+ance in the !tudy of human! and their )ay! of 'e#com8ing"

%he coale!cence of human material-!ym'olic practice! and indi+idual and collecti+e

con!truction of local(population 'iologie! i! analy!ed a! a particular ca!e in )hich

the heuri!tic ad+antage! of !uch a 'io!ociocultural orientation i! to 'e !een" .a!t 'ut

not lea!t, & fini!h )ith !ome con!ideration! for a 'io!ociocultural theory of mind and

*no)ledge"

I. DUALISTIC THINKING AND THE NATURE/CULTURE

DIVIDE

&"/" &N%R DUC%& N

;


3/41

Epi!temologie! con!i!t of ho) )e thin* and addre!! ontological# ised 8 'eing!,

o' ect!, relation!hip!, ualitie!, type! of cau!ality, agency, etc" %hey conform general

frame! of ho) )e under!tand the )orld and our mutual a!!em'lie! )ith it"

Although not e clu!i+e to u! 0, 'inary thin*ing i! pre+alent in =e!tern

intellectual(practical tradition!, either in common sense intuiti+e p!ychologie! andfol* ta onomie!, a! in !cience production"

Epi!temologie! em'race !pecific paradigm! a! 'road conceptual-practical

categorie! that are at the core of theorie!, )hich in turn in!pire !pecific

methodologie!, and guide data production, analy!i! and interpretation"

Many of our commonly ta*en for granted antinomie! and oppo!ition! ac uire

thi! dual format a! )ell3 a8 Nature/Culture , Nature(Nurture, $iology(Culture,$iology(Society, Genetic!(De+elopment, E+olution(De+elopmentF '8 animal(humanF

organic(inorganic, genotype(phenotype, phylogeny(ontogenyF c8 mind(matter,

mind('odyF c" real(!ym'olic, material(!ym'olic, organic(!ym'olicF d"

cognition(emotion, rea!on(!en!e!, innate(learned-ac uiredF e8 !u' ect(o' ect,

indi+idual(!ocietyF f8 action-practice!(norm!, intention(action,

repre!entation(di!cour!e, mind-categorie!(action, thin*ing(doing, cau!e(effectF etc"

&t i! on the Nature/Culture duali!m that thi! paper i! concerned )ith"

%he di+i!ion 'et)een life !cience! and humani!tic and

!ociocultural !cience! i! +ery much one of the outcome! of thi! *ind of

epi!temology"

Nature ha! 'een the traditional the o' ect of !tudy for the 'road !cientific

domain called Natural/Life Sciences " Humans , societies and cultures )ere placedBout!ide Nature, their !tudy 'eing relegated to the >umanitie!, Social Science! and

certain 1!ychologie!" n the other hand, and de!pite a di+er!ity of intere!t!, theorie!,

methodologie! and data production, EuroAmerican Social Science! and >umanitie!

)ere hi!torically con!tituted again!t the !o-called Natural and Life Sciences "

&n my opinion, thi! di+ide i! untena'le any more" ?ir!t of all 'ecau!e our un-

connected and a-relational partitioning and practicing of a )orld !plit into the!e t)o

0 See #A!tuti /6678"@ =ith !ome e ception!" See #$oa! /6H;8"

0


4/41

hou!e!I #Cf" .atour, ;::@8 7 i! ethnocentric, a hi!torical, !ociocultural and political

in+ention" &t i! 'ut a +ery !pecific one among other po!!i'ilitie!" %here i! a di+er!ity

in ho) human! may con!truct and relate to a )orld, ho)e+er thi! i! defined and

li+ed J" ur! i! uite far from other holi!tic epi!temologie! and ontologie! that !ho)

interconnectedne!! and en+ironmental communalism #1u ley named a! the Ne$ s%nthesis and Romanone! a! Neodar$inism " &n thi!

turn 1opulation Genetic! #?i!her /60:F Maynard Smith /67HF Ca+alli-Sforza and

?eldman /6H/8 and Neodar)inian account! of e+olution H reduced $iology to

Genetic! and life e+aporated from $iology"

7 %han*! again to C" 1l2h for addre!!ing me to .atour ! idea! on the topic"J See De!cola and 1


5/41

Neodar)inian thin*ing, 'e it in E+olutionary theory, 1opulation Genetic!,

Socio'iology, $eha+ioral Ecology, Gene-culture co-e+olution theory, E+olutionary

1!ychology, Memetics , etc", relie! hea+ily on the Nature/Culture di+i!ion"

Nature i! under!tood in a t)o-fold fa!hion" ?ir!t, a! Nature&out&there3 the

autonomou! e tracorporeal en+ironment that )e name realityI, )hich impo!e! it!elf onto u! and other form! of life to 'e either controlled, tran!formed or adapted to"

Second, a! Nature&in&here3 our genetic endo)ment" Natural !election mediate! for

the proper ad u!tment 'et)een the inner and the outer force! of Nature "

&t i! argued that the organi!m i! a container(carrier(replicator(of gene! 6" %he

gene i! the unit of inheritance, !election and e+olution" &t pre-e i!t! all other life

con!tituent! and proce!!e!, a! an ontological e!!ence, a di!crete replicating unit,

'ounded and !elf-contained #&ngold /66:8" Gene! are !egment! of a macromoleculecalled DNA that re!ide in the nucleu! and the mithocondria of the eu*aryotic cell"

%hey contain the digitally ordered code of in!truction! #information8 for protein

production that )ill !pecify phenotypic trait!" =hat i! transmitted through the

generation!, therefore inherited, i! a 'unch of gene! )ith in!truction! for !pecie!

genotypic continuity" 1henotype i! the linear for)ard outcome of the genome and the

en+ironment #the )ell *no)n ' ( # formula8" %here are no po!!i'le re+er!al effect!

from the phenotype to the genotype #=ei!mann, /HH:8" %herefore, Neodar)inian

thin*ing i! gene&centered and, ultimately, deterministic "

Carrier! of gene!, either a! indi+idual! and(or population!, adapt, in the long

run, to an e ternal changing and challenging Nature that pre-e i!t! and i!

independent of the organi!m! that inha'it it"

Beha)ior i! concei+ed a! mea!ura'le action o'!er+ed, )hich i! modeled

)ithout any con!ideration to !u' ecti+e in+ol+ement nor con!tituti+e

interconnectedne!! of actor!" &t i! e uated to Culture , and i! re-named a! e*tended

phenot%pe, )hich, in the end, depend! on genot%pe" Genetic determini!m i! the

ultimate e planatory for 'eha+iorF 'oth e+ol+e follo)ing !imilar rule! #!ee further8"

%he!e Neodar)inian approache! e hi'it a fundamental Methodological

&ndi+iduali!m, )hich mean! that all collecti+e phenomena are to 'e e plained from

the indi+idual" Society i! under!tood a! a population, the aggregation of monadic

indi+idual! )here the )hole i! the !um of it! part! /: " Rationali!tic in!trumentality of

choice, action and deci!ion !tre!! conflict, deceit and competition o+er cooperation"

6 &n +opulation 'enetics the unit )ould 'e the population it!elf, a group of organi!m! that !ho) !pecific allele fre uencie!"/: Entomology 'ecame the model for human !ocial relation! #&ngold /6H68"

7


6/41

/";" NAT!"# AND C!LT!"# &N S C&A. AND CU.%URA. AN%>R 1 . G "

Social !cienti!t! ha+e 'een al!o captured 'y the Nature/Culture di+ide !pell,

ta*ing for granted thi! dichotomy"

>uman nature )a! traditionally con!idered a 'iological gi+en #Dur*heim,Malino)!*y, Radcliffe-$ro)n, .2+i-Strau!!, Cultural Materiali!m, Sym'olic

Anthropology8, not concerning Social and Cultural intere!t!" Sociocultural

Anthropology a!!umed man a! the fini!hed product of organic e+olution, onto )hich

culture )ould !hape it! real form #!ee #Geertz /6 08" >uman! and material 'odie!

)ere already there for Culture to )or* upon, a theoretical approach that )e can !till

!ee in 1 ostmodern Anthropology #!ee ;8"

Social Science! and >umanitie! !hare )ith the .ife Science! a paleomorphichierarchical ontology of )orld phenomena // , )ith it! implicit do)n-up cau!al

hierarchy3 fir!t come! the )orld of 1hy!ic!, Chemi!try, Geology, etc"F then life in the

)ay of Genetic!, $iology, E+olutionF after, the indi+idual, !tudied 'y 1!ychology and

it! different 'ranche!F the !ocial, !ocietie!, group!, come ne t, !tudied 'y Sociology,

1olitical Science, Economic!, .a), etc" n top, and at the end, li*e a +ariegated

decorated hat, that i!, the cultural , Culture , the o' ect of Ethnography, Ethnology,

Social and Cultural Anthropology, either a! the ualification of human group! or a!

endle!! form! of tradition!, technologie! and(or !ym'olic )ay!" A! one goe! up the

ladder the inner nature , the e!!ence of thing! and li+ing form!, !tart to 'lur and

'ecome epiphenomenal"

?or Social Anthropology Culture ha! 'een traditionally concei+ed a! the many

different )ay! in )hich people organized and ga+e meaning to their !ocial li+e!" A

multiple )orld of cultures and societies #a! if the!e )ere contiguou! term! 8

appeared, contri'uting to a mo!aic of endle!! +ariation and particulari!mF relati+i!m

)a! it! theoretical and methodological counterpart /; " Nature )a! ne+er 'een

con!idered in it! organic and 'iological !en!e, 'ut a! a culturally and hi!torical

con!tructed ontology that ma*e! true the !ociocultural centri!m of the di!cipline" Still

!corned 'y the e ce!!e! of /6 th century ethnocentric E+olutioni!m, e+olution )a!

e cluded from the di!ciplineF !o )a! the organic" $iological Anthropology too* o+er

thi! i!!ue, deepening the di+orce 'et)een different 'ranche! of Anthropology, at lea!t

in Europe" Oue!tioned in re!pect to their capacity to produce general la)! and

// #Sinha /66J88F #Shore /66J88F #Geertz /6 08"/; Anthropologi!t reception of Sau!!ure ! ar'itrarine!! and un-moti+ation of the lingui!tic !ign and the metaphor of culturea! a te*t , reinforced thi! particulari!tic and relati+i!tic +ie) of the cultural realm"

J


7/41

prediction a! a criteria of their scientific legitimacy, Social Science! in general and

Social Anthropology in particular, )ere relegated a! ideographic di!cipline!,

incapa'le of predicti+e *no)ledge and account! of uni+er!al!, 'ut only ethnographic

de!cription from a relati+i!tic per!pecti+e #'ut !ee 08"

%he +ostmodern turn pro+ided u! )ith a critical de-con!truction of aEuroamerican Modernit% re-a!!e!!ment of human !uperiority o+er the )orld and all

it! creature!C&%A , Oue!tioning the philo!ophical, political and ideological frame!

that underlie modern unlimited faith in #European8 human rationality, po!tmodern

criti ue al!o pro'lematized the Nature/Culture 'inari!m in technology, politic! and

!cience #>ara)ay /6H6F /66/8" 1o!tmodernity did indeed culturalizedI the concept!

of Nature and human nature , ta*ing !ociocultural, hi!torical and political

determini!m to it! limit"

2. EPISTEMOLOGICAL SHIFTS: DYNAMIC SYSTEMS

THEORIES, SELF-ORGANISATION, COMPLEX NON-LINEAR

SYTEMS AND DEVELOPMENT

&t i! clear that putting human! bac &into&Nature in the )ay of !u'!uming theformer into the latter doe! not ta*e u! 'eyond the Nature/Culture di+ide" Neither the

other )ay round, ignoring e+olution and the organic, 'ut only decon!tructing

di!cour!e and practice!"

%o 'e a'le to de-con!truct part of the!e theorie!, & ha+e dedicated !ome time and

energy to Dynamic Sy!tem! %heorie!" Self-organization and autopoie!i! pro+ided me

)ith clue! for under!tanding !y!tem! and their en+ironment!" Comple ity theory and

non-linear dynamic! !eemed )ell !uited for rea!!e!!ing the !ocial" De+elopmentalSy!tem! %heorie! #DS%8 helped )e rethin*ing on-going proce!!e! and change /0 " &t i!

not that & ha+e te!ted the!e theorie! again!t !ociocultural phenomenaF the intention

)a! to 'e in!pired in the articulation of a more holi!tic narrati+e of )hat and ho) it

i! to 'e#come8 human!"

&n their origin, Dynamic Sy!tem! %heorie! are mathematical theorie! for the

de!cription of comple !y!tem! 'eha+ior! in time" &n it! 'roader !en!e, they 'ring

together a comple !et of theorie! from a 'road range of di!cipline! that empha!ize

/0 ?or a full re+ie) and the challenging in!ight! they may pro+ide for a 'io!ociocultural approach, !ee #RamirezGoicoechea ;:/08Ch"0"


8/41

the !elf-organi!ation and non-linearity #non-additi+e, non-homogeneou!, non-!imple

cau!e-effect relationality8 that produce, through de+elopment, 'oth !ta'ilization and

change through no+elty and emergent proce!!"

>ere & cannot 'ut 'riefly !*etch !ome of their 'a!ic tenet! that & ha+e found really

!timulating for lea+ing 'ehind the Nature/Culture antinomy to)ard! a morecomprehen!i+e and fruitful approach in the !tudy of human! and humanity"

;"/" AU% 1 &ES&S AND SE.?- RGAN&PA%& N

Autopoie!i! mean! !elf-creati+ity" Autopoie!i! i! a property of !ome !y!tem!

that, 'ecau!e of that, )e may call autopoieitic s%stems- Autopoietic Sy!tem! /@ are

relati+ely !elf-organized and autonomou! in the !en!e that they allo) for micro-

e+ent! and micro-relation!, )hile maintaining po!!i'ilitie! for 'road communicationand interrelation!hip throughout the !y!tem and )ith the en+ironment" Autopoietic

!y!tem! de+elop on their o)n once reached a non-turning point )ithout out!ide

!ynchronization, primal cau!e, or e ternal intentional agency" S" 4auffman

#4auffman /6608 mention! thi! a! order for freeI" nce in motion, !y!tem! de+elop

on their o)n"

%han*! to an operational closure, a loop, the!e !y!tem! acti+ely select an

outer domain of !pecification #Karela, %homp!on et al" /66/8, an en)ironment ,

through )hich they 'uild their o)n inner !pace a! a constituted order , reducing and

!implifying e ternal comple ity" Clo!ure i! ne+er totally accompli!hed nor fulfilled"

$oundarie! are continuou!ly arranged and re-arranged /7 " rder and di!-order, noi!e,

pertur'ation!, are part and parcel of the !y!tem-en+ironment mutual and continual re-

ad u!tment! 'y mean! of the recur!i+e effect! of loop! and feed'ac*!"

%han*! to their con!tituti+e interaction! )ith their en+ironment relation!

'ecome regular pattern! of continuou! pro!pecti+e action for the pre!ent and future

+ia'ility of the !y!tem #i"e" the organi!m8" Autopoietic !y!tem! are al)ay!

contingent, )ith no ontological e!!ence to themF they are con!tituted 'y their hi!tory

of de+elopment and connectedne!!"

All li+ing creature! Q including human! - organize their li+e! and

en+ironment! in co-ontogeny and co-e+olution )ith other life 'eing!, )ith )hich

they may 'e structurall% coupled #Maturana and Karela /66;8"

/@ ?or all that follo)!, !ee #Maturana and Karela /6H:F Maturana /6H/F Maturana and Karela /66;8, #Karela, %homp!on and

Ro!ch /66/8, #Morin /6 8, #Morin /66/8, #Lant!ch /6H:8, #Peleny /6H:8, #4auffman /6608, #%helen /6H7F %helen, 4el!oand ?ogel /6H 8 #.uhmann /6678, #Ro!e /66 8, #.orite Mena /6H;8, #Gomila ;://8, #1erez-%aylor ;::;8"/7 %he cell mem'rane i! the fir!t organic clo!ure that )e *no) of" &t e!ta'li!he! an internal !pace Q le!! comple than it!di+er!e +aria'le en+ironment!" Mem'rane! are o!motic, maintaining continuou! openne!! for 'iochemical interchange" ?or!ome, they are the cell ! brain- See #.ipton ;::78

H


9/41

Autopoietic !y!tem! !ho) recur!i+ene!!, the property of monitoring and acting

upon them!el+e! #.uhmann /66783/ 6, in a *ind of re)or*ing, re-de!cription

#4armiloff-Smith /66;8 and homeodynamic !elf-regulation #Ro!e /66 8, )hich may

al!o incorporate no+elty and change"

Autopoietic !y!tem! can 'e found e+ery)here3 cell!, organ!, organi!m!, per!on!,group!, !ocietie!, etc"

;";" C M1.E &%

Comple ity i! an attri'ute of many dynamic !y!tem!" &t i! that property of

!y!tem! 'y )hich their element! are interconnected to many other part! and element!

)ith )hich they continuou!ly e change and proce!! information #Cramer /6608,

#$a* /66J8, #.e)in /66;8, #Reyna ;::;8 at different hierarchical degree! #=im!att/66@8"

Micro-dynamic! among element! depend on their neigh'oring part!, a! in

neuronal cyto-architecture #Edelman /6HH8 and the )eight of each interconnection

in term! of cycle! of de+elopment and it! structureness o+er time and" %he

organization of the !y!tem re!ult! from the glo'al effect of it! re!pon!i+ene!! to all

the!e po!!i'ilitie! of interaction"

Comple dynamic !y!tem! o!cillate 'et)een order and di!orderF )hile

limiting di!order, they al!o maintain fle i'ility for po!!i'le change #Nicoli! and

1rigogine /6H68" Noi!e and pertur'ation! may 'e co-opted for further reorganization

and creati+ity #no+elty8, opening ne) po!!i'ilitie! 'ut al!o ne) con!traint!" Change

can !pread to multiple le+el! or 'e *ept at 'ay temporarily"

Comple dynamic !y!tem! may e+ol+e into a critical !tate, in )hich

interconnecti+ity increa!e! to the limit #Cramer /660F .e)in /66;8" %hi! !tate i!

called self&organi.ed criticalit% #$a* /66J8" %he outcome of thi! !ituation i! a partial

or total reorganization of the !y!tem, an emergency, a bifurcation #%hom /6 ;8, a

schismogenesis #$ate!on /67H #/60H88, a singularit% a! the une pected ne)

phenomena it may produce"

Reorganization can gi+e 'irth to an emergenc%, a non-linear phenomenon

produced at different micro-macro le+el!, either 'y the glo'al dynamic! of the

!y!tem #Gellman /6678 or locally 'y it! many micro-!y!tem!" Comple dynamic

!y!tem! may 'ecome organized around attractor! #1rigogine /6H:8, #Madore and

?reedman /6H 8, under!tood a! gra+itational force!(point!(!tate!(cycle!

6


10/41

around(to)ard! )hich part! of the !y!tem or it! glo'ality #not nece!!arily it! totalit%8

may e+ol+e"

Non-linear cau!ality cannot 'e predicted 'y a !imple function of changed

condition! /J F cau!e-effect lin*! cannot 'e traced in full #%helen /6H68 'ecau!e of the

dynamicity of the !y!tem and the multiple tra ectorie! of it! part! 'et)een differentattractor! / " Change i! neither determini!tic nor random, 'ut !tocha!tic3 pro'a'le 'ut

ne+er certainF there i! !electi+ity )ithin limit!"

;";" DEKE. 1MEN%A. S S%EMS %>E R&ES #DS%8

De+elopmental Sy!tem! %heorie! can 'e con!idered a !pecial orientation

)ithin the 'ig la'el of Dynamic Sy!tem! %heorie!" %he!e theorie! Q )hich in truth

can 'e con!idered a! epi!temologie! - ha+e e!ta'li!hed a mile!tone in re-thin*ing life proce!!e! in their full dynamicity # yama /6H7F yama /66;F yama, Griffith! and

Gray ;::/8" rgani!m! propertie!, capacitie! and acti+ity are the outcome of the

emergent propertie! of de+elopmental !y!tem! )hen engaging )ith the en+ironment

and them!el+e! in on-going proce!!e!"

De+elopmental proce!!e! are generati+e and relational field! for interaction!

and form! to emerge #.e)ontin /6H0F &ngold /66/8" DS% empha!ize interactional

cau!ality and !en!iti+ity to pa!t and pre!ent condition!" De+elopment i! under!tood

a! a con!tructi+e !tructuring proce!! and an endle!! !ource of !tocha!tic change #!ee

@ 78" DS% i! in radical oppo!ition )ith neodar)inian paradigm!, )hich ha+e ne+er

con!idered neither de+elopment nor ontology /H"

Sy!tem! $iology and +ostgenomics , non-adaptationi!t e+olutionary thin*ing

#MTller and Ne)man ;::73@H 8, E+olutionary De+elopmental $iology #EK -

DEK 8 #Gil'ert ;::/F Carroll ;::78, E+olutionary Epi!temology #EE8 #=u*etit!

/6H@F Calle'aut and Stotz /66HF Gonthier ;::J8F e)elopmental Sciences

#Magnu!!on and Cairn! /66J8, all of them focu! on an epi!temology that in!i!t! on

change, ontogeny and de+elopment"

=ith the!e in!piring epi!temologie!, )e )ill 'e 'etter e uipped for a proper

criti ue of the Nature/Culture !plit" %hat i! )hat & )ill try ne t"

/J %here are not enough rule! or algorithm! to !pecify all it! po!!i'le lin*! and path!F e+olution i!, in the end, undetermined#Gould /6H0F .e)ontin /6 H8"/ Some comple !y!tem! are al!o called chaotic s%stems 'ecau!e they are +ery !en!iti+e to initial condition! and any local

pertur'ation, although minimal a! it may 'e, producing an amplified chain of effect!, unpredicta'le in it! e+olution #i"e" thebutterfl% effect , cf" #.orenz /6J78, the domino effect 8" %hat i! the ca!e of )eather, the traffic, the 'eha+iour of ma!!e! in a

panic !ituation, etc"/H $ut for !ome e ception! ##Mead /6 F =hiting and Child /6708, #%oren /6608, and Cro!!cultural 1!ychology, Social andCultural Anthropology ha+e not con!idered de+elopment either"

/:


11/41

3. DE-CONSTRUCTING NATURE . HUMAN

0"/" NAT!"# AS UNDER. &NG ESSENCE AND UN&KERSA.S

Rooted in a !pecific hi!torical and philo!ophical conception! the Life

Sciences ha+e !tre!!ed the uni+er!ality of Nature0s la)!"

All li+ing organi!m! on Earth de+elop under phy!ical, chemical and 'iological

principle! 'ut there are man% $a%s for different organi!m! and their con!tituti+e

ecorelation! /6 " ne thing i! to under!tand uni)ersal a! common, pro'a'le, pattern!F

another i! to a!!ume it a! the underlying e!!ence of thing!"

$e!ide!, )hat i! particular, !ingular, uni ue, depend! on the !y!tem ! actual proce!!e! of eco-organization, hierarchical comple ity #!cale8 and per!pecti+e ;: "

Di+er!ity and generality can 'e found at any empirical le+el, depending on +ie),

!cale and phenomenic comple ity" Nothing i! more idio!yncratic and particular than

'iological proce!!e! !uch a! neural epigene!i!, 'rain connecti+ity or gut flora"

Nothing i! more uni)ersal than human co-ontogenetic 'iology, p!ychology and

!ocioculturality in the )ay of *in!hip, reproduction and !e uality regulation, the

organizing of production, con!umption, and di!tri'ution, the con!titution of a moralorder, the producing and organization of indi+idual(collecti+e *no)ledge and

meaning, the ordering of affect! and emotion!, the !ocialization, education and

'ringing up of children, etc" A! Lean 1iaget #/6 :8 u!ed to !ay )hat i! ine+ita'le

!hould not nece!!arily 'e innateI ;/ "

A! general repetiti+e !hared pattern! Q uni)ersals can only come to 'e in their

local and hi!torical incarnation! #Ramirez Goicoechea ;::683//J8" %hey are not

ontological gi+en!" %hey are al)ay! !pecified in particular e+ol+ing(de+eloping

!y!tem! and their eco-relation!" All e tant human! 'elong to the !ame !pecie!,

sapiens sapiens al!o called modern human #Cann, Stone*ing and =il!on /6H 8F

/6 A! /6 th century German mathematician Georg Cantor )ould ha+e !aid, the infinite come! in different !ize! and !et!,although not e+erything i! po!!i'le";: So doe! conte*t referred !ometime! a! !ociocultural and hi!torical frame!, or to the eco!y!tem a! en+ironment"Conte t may 'e defined at multiple !cale!, depending on phenomenological comple ity and per!pecti+e";/ &t i! an incon+enient truth that the on!et of 'eha+ior i! 'efore 'irthI #Al'ert! ;::H83; :" %rait!, 'eha+iour! andcapacitie! that )ere thought 'efore to 'e innate, genetically dri+en, are no) 'eing under!tood a! the re!ult of prenatalde+eloping !y!tem! of e perience #Gottlie' /66 8 in )hich Each !en!ory !y!tem 'egin! to function )hile !till

undergoing maturation "" !o each !y!tem could contri'ute to it! o)n normal prenatal #a! )ell a! po!tnatal8 de+elopmentI#Gottlie' ;::/83@@-7" nly through function doe! !tructure realize in de+elopment a! a unified tran!actional e+entthroughout time #i'id"8" &nnate 'eha+iour i! mi!ta*ingly thought a! genetic #Griffith! and Machery ;::H8, 'eing that it!hould 'e under!tood 'etter a! e tended inheritance of epigenetic factor! )hich are relia'ly reproduced )ith the help ofontogenetic niche con!tructionI #Stotz ;::H30J:-/8 -

//


12/41

#&ngman ;:::8" $ut there i! no !uch thing a! a pre-e i!ting human nature pre+iou! to

it! contingent de+elopmental con!titution" &n thi! re!pect, Humans do not ha+e

Nature #!o concei+ed8 'ut hi!toryI #&ngold ;:/08 that of their e+ol+ed(de+eloped

organic, p!ychic, !ociocultural and political indi+idual(collecti+e life cour!e!"

%a*ing uni+er!al! a! con!traint! i! another reductioni!m that cannot !tand up

for in!pection anymore" &t i! )idely accepted that Nature Q identified a! 'enetics,

Biolog%, #)olution Q determine! the !cope of human di+er!ity and 'eha+ior" n the

contrary, infinite particularity and po!!i'ility i! attri'uted to Culture Q Societ%"

>o)e+er, there i! no empirical e+idence for thi! 'eliefF con!train! and po!!i'ilitie!

ha+e nothing to do )ith !uch *ind of dichotomie!" Structuring(!tructurenne!! of

human con+ention! through per!onal(collecti+e em'odiment #i"e" in habitus

#$ourdieu /6H:88 and o' ecti+ization #Ramirez Goicoechea ;::H8 and entification ,in the )ay of practice!, di!cour!e!, imagerie!, in!titution!, norm! and rule!,

procedure!, 'elief!, +alue!, ethic!, ecological practice!, political action, etc", can

'ecome !trong con!traint! for the e+olution and de+elopment of human 'iologie!,

acti+itie! and e perience!, e+en for human !u!taina'ility on Earth"

0";" RE%>&N4&NG A A+TATI1N

%he idea of adaptation )a! !trongly critici!ed 'y Richard .e)ontin

#.e)ontin /6 H8 'ecau!e it pre!uppo!e! the capacity of an organi!m to !ol+e a

pro'lem impo!ed 'y an e ternal and independent en+ironment ;; " Adaptationism i!,

in the end, functionali!t3 a! a trait e i!t, it mu!t ha+e 'een !electedF if it )a! !elected,

then it i! 'ecau!e it i! u!eful #Sahlin! /6 J8" %he argumentation i! post&facto and

tautological3 that !omething !ati!fie! !ome nece!!ary condition! it doe! not follo)

that it )a! meant to e i!t for that, that it i! the primal cau!e or that no other )ay!

could produce the !ame re!ult! #Sh)eder /66/8" $iological !y!tem! are nottautological in the !en!e that they al)ay! follo) an a iological truth" Although

po!!i'ilitie! are not unlimited, different non-linear outcome! may 'e produced 'y

different mean!" %here are no rule! nor algorithm! that !pecify all po!!i'le

'ecoming!"

Some time ago Richard .e)ontin #.e)ontin /6 H8, propo!ed the )ord

adaptabilit% ha! 'een propo!ed a long time ago a! a 'etter concept a! the organi!m !

po!!i'ilitie! to de+elop !u!taina'le interaction! )ith it! en+ironment! in !ituation! de

;; Charle! Dar)in )a! not !ure him!elf if natural !electionI could e plain the e+olution of comple organ! !uch a! the eye#Dar)in /6 7 #/H7688

/;


13/41


14/41

including it! !tarting and ending, )hat coding and non-coding part! )ill 'e !pliced,

ho) the remaining part! )ill 'e rea!!em'led and, if !o, tran!lated, )hat nucleotid!

)ill 'e in!erted, !u'!tituted or deleted, and )hat no+el nucleotide information )ill 'e

produced in the !e uence of genomic product! #Stotz ;::J8"

Genomic regulation i! part of the cell phy!iology #Shapiro /666F Stotz ;::H8"Gene!, on their o)n, ha+e little predicti+e capacity, apparently not e+en for di!ea!e

predi!po!ition #.oc* and Nguyen ;:/:83006-0@ "

&n Genetic! linear cau!ality doe! not apply" No !ingle gene ha! 'een

empirically pro+ed to 'e re!pon!i'le for the +ariation of a comple phenotype

#1lomin and >o /66/8 ;7 " $iological comple ity cannot 'e predetermined genetically

#Ro!e, .e)ontin et al" /6 J8" %here i! not a !traight path from DNA to RNA to

protein to phenotypeI #.oc* and Nguyen ;:/:8300@ through )hich )e coulde!ta'li!h a !pecific gene one-to-one for any trait #Mo!! ;::/83H 'ut a many-to-many

relation! 'et)een genomic material and phenotypic outcome! 'y )ay of

de+elopmental proce!!e!" %he effect of gene! i! indirect and manifoldF genotype-

phenotype linear directionality i! 'ut an illu!ionI )hich !tudy i! fraught )ith

am'iguity and uncertaintyI #Rindo! /6H78" DNA can only 'e read in the gro)th

proce!! of the organi!mF +oid of conte t, the genome i! an a'!traction, a product of

modern !cientific in+ention #&ngold ;::@83;/@,;/7"

&n the post&genomic era of Sy!tem! $iology that came to life during the H: !

of the la!t century, a crucial !hift too* plea!e3 the ue!tion )a! readdre!!ed to the

type of 'iological proce!! DNA !e uence! inter+ene in, )hen and ho) they do it

#Ger!tein, $ruce and Rozo)!*y ;:: 83J H8" And thi! entailed epi!temological,

theoretical and methodological change! to)ard! !y!tem! dynamic!, comple ity, non-

linear cau!ality and de+elopment" &n!tead of independent !elf-!ufficient 'ounded

gene!, the idea i! of a reacti)e genome , acti+ated, !timulated and partly regulated 'y

the dynamic! of cell acti+ity and it! en+ironmental !ignal! #Shapiro ;::78" Cell!

regulate genetic engineering of genome !y!tem architecture !pecifying and

demarcating it! product!" A! the immunological !y!tem !ho)!, the cell ! natural

genetic engineering contri'ute! to enhance efficiency !earching for tho!e genome

configuration! that encode functional comple !y!tem!, fa+oring the hierarchy of

!y!tem architecture!, e+en ta*ing control in DNA re!tructuration #i'id"6J-6 8"

'enomic material! and product! are to 'e con!idered )ithin dynamic

hierarchically organized net)or* !u'!y!tem! that interact )ith each other at !pecific

;7 Gene-a!!ociation !tudie! ha+e loo*ed for tho!e !pecific gene! that )ould e plain concrete trait! and 'eha+iour"

/@


15/41

time! and place! )ithin the cell, )or*ing a! de)elopmental resources #Mo!! ;::/F

El->ani ;:: 8" %hi! ne) orientation under!tand! 'iological proce!!e! a! !elf-

organized(mutually con!tituted relation! 'et)een part! and )hole in the tempo-

!patial dynamic! of the cell ! acti+ity, )here interconnection and intercommunication

of !ignal! and net)or*! are produced in the intert)ining of contingency anddeterminacy can 'e found #4eller ;::78"

%he !tre!! on de+elopmental 'iology point! to)ard! the deci!i+e importance

of genomics plasticit% #Spey'roec* ;::;8 in ontogeny" Genetic acti+ity i! not

independent nor i! out!ide the organi!m de+elopmental !y!tem #Gottlie'

;::/83@ ,@H8 'ut part of it" Regular interaction! may turn into relia'le e pected

!tati!tical pattern! that !culpt! the organi!m ! life and, in doing !o, open up further

path! of !ta'ility(change #.ehrman /67083 0@7" $iological patterning, !tructuring andmaterial realization, are the comple re!ult of de+elopmental cycle! of contingencie!

# yama, Griffith! and Gray ;::/8" Con!idering the organi!m propertie! a! the re!ult

of de+elopmental proce!!e! i! 'ecoming una+oida'le, 'oth in po!tgenomic! and in

e+olutionary thin*ing #MTller and Ne)man ;::73@H 8"

De+elopmental continuitie! and change! interfere )ith genomic dynamic! in

different )ay!, and at !pecific moment!" %hi! i! )hat epigenes i! i! a'out"

#pigenesis i! the directional molecular proce!! of genetic acti+ation,

e pre!!ion, re+elation, !uppre!!ion and regulation #Monod /6 :F >o and Saunder!

/6 68" &t i! the de+elopmental proce!! of $hat , ho$ , $here and $hen genomic

material! are !ilenced ;J or e pre!!ed, through guidance and regulation of other

genomic product!, including )hat are called regulatory gene! #i"e" the Ho* gene!

group, the tool it for +erte'rate! 'ilateral !ymmetry8" 1henotypic difference! #local

'iologie!8 are mainly due to the functional a'!ence of a pre!ent re!ource at a !pecific

time and place in an interacti+e net)or* of 'iochemical interaction!, a! the re!ult of

heterochronic comple a!!em'lie! of interdependent de+elopment !y!tem! #Ro!e

/66 8"

Epigene!i! i! en+ironmentally !en!iti+e" A! a 'iochemical proce!! it i!

triggered a! the !tocha!tic re!pon!i+ene!! of the organi!m to !u'tle en+ironmental

change! at particular de+elopmental moment! and place! #Gold!chmidt /6H;

;J Mo!t 'iomedical re!earch concentrate! in tho!e gene! that ha)e not been e*pressed #in due time and place8 and not on

tho!e that ha+e 'een and may cau!e a di!order" More than 6: of 'rea!t cancer! are not a!!ociated )ith any germlinemutationI #Mo!! ;::/3H68F mo!t cancer! of any type are related to the a'errant methylation of gene promoter region!#E!teller, Corn, $aylin and L"G" ;::/F .in and Maher ;:/:8, that i!, to epigenetic change!" Epigenetic mar*! are al!orelated to meta'olic and cardio+a!cular pro'lem!, inflammatory 'o)el, auto-immune di!ea!e!, e+en !chizophrenia, andauti!m !pectre di!order! #ASD8"

/7


16/41

#/6@:88, #$a!to), Mylne, .i!ter, .ippman, Martien!!en et al" ;::@8" &t i! not a

random proce!! a! natural !election i! a!!umed to 'e, 'ut a pro'a'le al'eit not

certain, not determined 'ut framed in it! po!!i'ilitie!" Epigenetic change! may

produce important phenotypic difference! at the population le+el acro!! generation!,

)ith e+olutionary con!e uence!;

#!ee 'elo)8"

. HUMAN MATERIALSYMBOLIC PRACTICES AS CULTURE

@"/" N#1 A"2INISIN' C!LT!"# AS A =A ? BNA%URA.&SA%& N

%)o different coe i!ting line! of thought coe i!ted in Euroamerican modernity3

that of human !ingularity and !uperiority than*! to hi! a'ilitie! for rationality, andthat of placing human! bac into Nature- Charle! Dar)in him!elf li+ed under thi!

parado ;H" =hat i! it that can 'e thought a! human nature i! uite a politically

conte!ted i!!ue #Mar*! ;:/:837/0"

%hi! naturali.ation of human beha)ior , human relation! #!ociety, !ociality8,

human )ay! # Culture 8, and the human mind, pretended to include the !tudy of

human! under the !cope of the Life Sciences- A 'ig part of them had 'een colonized

'y Neodar)inian thin*ing and it! epi!temological and theoretical tenet!" Under the!e

condition!, human and cultural naturalization! )ere e uated to neodar$inising

them" %hi! mo+e con!i!ted on re-capturing humanity and Culture under the !hade of

genetic determini!m and e+olutionary fitne!! ;6 - &n my opinion and in that of other!, a

+ery reductioni!t approach ari!e! from thi! intent"

Not )ith!tanding, Culture , under!tood a! !ocially tran!mitted information , i!

!aid to ha+e influence on genetic e+olution" A gene-culture co-e+olution theory )a!

de+eloped from thi! a!!umption #Durham /66/F Richer!on and $oyd ;::@8#?ro!t

; %he e+olutionary con!e uence! of thi! fle i'ility !hould not 'e undere!timated, and can 'e put for)ard to thereductioni!t rigid adaptationi!t programme" =hen en+ironmental condition! change, cell phy!iology may change +ery

uic*ly a! )ell, )ith adapti)e con!e uence! or not #$o!!dorf, Richard! and 1igliucci ;::H8" =hen change! are long-term,adapta'ility concern! the DNA" $ut )hen change! are produced in an intermediate e+olutionary chronology, the !pace of

'et)een t)o and one hundred generation!, cell memory and epigenetic inheritance contri'ute to a good enoughinterrelation )ith the en+ironment promoting the per!i!tence of a population )ithout the long time and in+e!tment in+ol+edin !earch of e uili'rium #La'lon*a and .am' ;::78" %hrough no)elt%, inno)ation and origination #MTller and Ne)man;::73@6: ff8 phenotypic pla!ticity due to epigenetic change! may 'e !elected in a population #=e!t-E'erhard ;::08"

%here i! e+idence of the e+olutionary role of DNA methylation #e!pecially cyto!ine methylation #Lone! and %a*ai ;::/8F#Phang, Richard! and $ore+itz ;:: 8 in animal genome!, 'eing that ;7 of mutation! that !eparate chimp! from human!occur at CpG !ite! #Elango and i ;::H8";H ?or a detailed account of thi! proce!! of naturalising !ee 1l2h thi! +olume";6 &n it! more reductioni!t +er!ion, Culture 3 help! genes adapting to Nature "

/J


17/41

and Richer!on, thi! +olume8 0: " ual&inheritance theory #D&%8 claimed for a dual

e+olution3 there )a! genetic e+olution and there )a! cultural e+olution, 'oth

follo)ing the !ame dar)inian e+olutionary force! #$oyd and Richer!on /6H78 #cf" 08"

%he pro'lem re!ide of a +ery particular conception of 'iological e+olution la)! #cf"

!upra8 impo!ed on Culture and 'eha+ior3 they are e plained follo)ing the !ameDar)inian principle! of )ariation , selection and inheritance " $ut thi! can 'e refuted

in each of it! claim! 0/ "

&n re!pect to inheritance, Culture doe! not e+ol+eI, at lea!t not a! you

thin*I #&ngold ;:/;8" Culture i! not inherited a! your granma ! portraitI, 'ut li+ed

and em'odied throughout our de+eloping life cour!e of 'ecoming human, than*! to a

!ociali!ed and enculturali!ed ontogeny #Ram9rez Goicoechea ;://88" Social

reproduction and continuity in di+er!ity and change, control, order, conformity)ithin di!!ent, all of them ha+e 'een the matter of !ocial and anthropological theory

and re!earch"

A! for selection , cultural human product! are !elected 'ut in a +ery different

manner3 through e ternalization, o' ecti+ization and entification , ta*en into the

collecti+e a! )ell a! #inter8!u' ecti+ely in-corporated 0; in meaningful interactional

and relational conte t!" Historicall% and socioculturalll% made relations and

artefacts are tran!formed into non-contingent social facts , part of our impo!ing(ed

en+ironment that )e ta*e for granted, a! naturali.ed e+idence! and ontologie! de+oid

of their human !ocial hi!tory of con!titution" %he!e ma*e up the en+ironmental

land!cape! )e li+e 'y, into )hich ne) generation! )ill gro) and tran!form a! part of

their o)n life line!, )ithin more or le!! autonomy and dependency" Selection come!

from the !tocha!tic effect! of intentional and non-intentional actor! -including non-

fore!een effect! of action- in continuou! relationality at different !cale! of

comple ity" Selection i! con ointly orientated 'y a political economy of the !ocial

#political, economical, ideological8 di!tri'ution of mean!, re!ource! and tool! that

empo)er !ome indi+idual(collecti+e agencie! at the co!t of di!empo)ering other!, in

a current of impo!ed reification! according to !pecific regime!(attractor! of truth,

legitimacy and compul!ory o'!er+ance"

&n re!pect to )ariation , there i! plenty, although it! total randomne!! i!0: Cultural&led co-e+olution of gene-culture i! ta*en to 'e a progre!!i+e and relati+ely recent epi!ode in human e+olution,

'eing that human practice! are !tarting to 'e incorporated in the picture #Richer!on and $oyd, i'id"8, )hich i! a +ery)elcomed ad+ance from my point of +ie)"

0/ &t i! not true that !ocial anthropologi!t! ha+e not dealt )ith the!e i!!ue!, 'ut they ha+e departed from a le!! linear anddetermini!tic epi!temology and theory, +ery much ignored 'y non-literate academic! in the field"0; $y mean! of practice! of repetition, rutinization, typification, !chemati!ation, procedural *no)ledge, rituali!ing,in!titutionali!ing, di!cour!e and repre!entation, etc"

/


18/41

di!puta'le 'ecau!e of )hat )e ha+e u!t mentioned" Difference, change and

!imilarity ha+e al)ay! 'een part of the anthropological agenda 00" A! Rindo! put! it,

the +ariation nece!!ary for !election e i!t! 'ecau!e a e! made 'y different

indi+idual! differ and tho!e made 'y indi+idual! of different tradition! al!o differ in

re!pon!e to differing B!y!tem! of repre!entation I, al)ay! allo)ing for the generationof ne) +ariant! that are !u' ect to !electionI #Rindo! /6H783 ;" =e can thin* of

!ociocultural !y!tem!, at glo'al and local le+el!, in term! of their generati+e property

for +ariation and change #$urn! and Dietz /66;8, impro+i!ation and inno+ation"

Di+er!ity i! an intrin!ic uality inherent to the )orld )e con!truct and encounter in

the cri!!-cro!!ing )ith other life tra ectorie! and $a%farings #&ngold ;://83/7J-/J@8"

@";" =>A% %>E S1CI1C!LT!"AL &S A$ U%"

ne of D&% ! de+elopment! ha! 'een Memetics , in+ented 'y reno)n 'iologi!t

and anti-creationi!t Richard Da)*in! #Da)*in! /6H;F /6 J8" >e ha! concei+ed

Culture #e*tended phenotype8 a! a collection of memes, unit! of replicated 'eha+ior

'y imitation 0@ that e+ol+e the !ame )ay a! gene! 07" =ithin a cy'ernetic paradigm of

communication a! a linear proce!! of tran!mi!!ion(diffu!ion(reception(,

pertur'ation!, di!!onance, +ariation, are ta*en a! de+iation!, error!, bias of )hat

!hould 'e e pected for !uch an organi!m, or a! a !hift #due to learning e uated to

culture 8 in )hat !hould e pected from a 'eha+ior genetically determined" %herefore,

change, )hich i! inherent and intrin!ic to any phenomenological proce!!, i! difficult

to e plain" $ut from a dynamic non-linear approach, it i! the copying that

originate!I #Geertz /6HJ830H:8" Cultural e+olution i! not a'out information

replication" Re-production ine+ita'ly entail! impro+i!ation #&ngold and >allam

;:: 8, inno+ation and re-creation #=illi! /660-/6H/8 )ithin certain fle i'ility and

!ta'ility of form!" Small +ariation! can 'e !y!temically co-opted and interconnected

'ringing forth no+el e+ent! and po!!i'ilitie!" Re-creation, re-de!cription, re-

interpretation, multiple )ay! of em'odying in multi-local conte t! and time!, are at

00 Re-a!!em'ling and commonality, !harea'ility, heterogeneou! uniformity and conformity, !hould al!o 'e accounted for">uman o' ecti+i!ed and in!titutionali!ed product! may 'ecome attractor! em'odied in di!cour!e!, action!, repre!entation!,relation!, norm!, rule!, that mediate and !tructure con oint inter!u' ecti+e e perience! in !imilar )ay!, 'y )hich peopleidentify them!el+e! and other! a! part of a more or le!! !hared en+ironment"0@ Not that imitation i! to 'e mi! udged" &t i! a leading force in !ociali!ation, empathy and enculturation, 'ut not a! copying

#Ramirez Goicoechea ;:/083& "07 Dan Sper'er added to thi! the epidemiological paradigm of +iru! !preading3 Culture i! di!tri'uted in a population a!contagious ideas #Sper'er /6H7F /66@8" $oth Memetics and the epidemiolog% of repre!entation! ha+e 'een at odd! )ith any*ind of 1!ychology #e cept #)olutionar% 1!ychology8 ineffectually trying to e plain )hy replication i! ne+er completelyrelia'le"

/H


19/41

the core of )hat Culture i! a'out"

&n !pite of it! po!!i'le reification!, Culture i! not a thing )ith an ontological

!tatu! pre+iou! to ho) human! ma*e a life of their o)n in a multiple diachronic

fa'ric of inter-relationality and inter!u' ecti+ity" Neither there are many Cultures4

around a +ariegated )orld, a! the idio!yncratic character of identity(difference of particular 'ounded group! on a one-to one 'a!i!, one group(one culture #D9az de

Rada ;:/:8" &t ha! long pa!!ed the time )hen ethnographer! u!ed to thin* of human

cultures a! unit! to )hich sociodemographic groups )ould 'elong to 0J "

?or human!, there i! not a !ingle cultural !y!tem or +er!ion that people

belong to , 'ut a rhi.omathic multi-centered !pace that conform a relational plane for

action and di!cour!e" &n thi! non-e!!entiali!t, non-reifying +ie) of Culture , )hat i!

important i! the dynamic!, the relational" %hat i! )hy !ome of u! tal* a'out the sociocultural, a! a ualifying con!tituti+e feature of our e+ol+ed(de+eloped practiced

humanity3 there i! no )ay for human! to 'e !ocial )ithout 'eing cultural and +ice-

+er!a"

Culture i! the !ocial practice of ho) )e 'uild our material!ym'olic

condition! of e i!tence" And thi! i! a comple , non-linear !tocha!tic proce!! of

con!truction and continuou! reorganization, de!cription and re-de!cription in a

relational human !pace )ith our!el+e! and other li+ing and not li+ing 'eing! of our

material!ym'olic condition! of e i!tance" %hi! i! an indi+idual #'iographical8 and

collecti+e endea+our in a +ariety of chronotopical !etting! that allo) for po!!i'ilitie!

under con!traint!, one of )hich i! the !ocial di!tri'ution of autonomy and po)er to

do !o"

@"0" AN%>R 1 GEN&C ENK&R NMEN%S3 = R.DS ? UR # 1TH#"0S 8

MA%ER&A.S M$ .&C 1RAC%&CES"

'ene&centered $iology, !tandard E+olutionary theorie!, Cogniti+i!m,

con!ider the organi!m a! a pa!!i+e agent determined 'y it! gene!, natural !election

and innate cogniti+e de+i!e! #!ee further8" Ne+erthele!!, an open concept of niche

construction come! to illuminate! thi! i!!ue 0 "

rgani!m!, a! eco!y!tem engineer! +ia niche construction, are agent! of their

o)n !u!taina'ility and change for them!el+e! and for other! #Maturana and Karela0J Cultural membership i! not an intrin!ic uality of group indi+idual!, 'ut a continuou! practice of 'elonging and

recognition" So called cultural boundaries are dynamic con!truction!, not impenetra'le )all! 'ut more or le!! o!moticmem'rane! that allo) for more or le!! permanent or not po!itioning and identification" .imit! are al)ay! a matter ofdefinition, al!o of !cale and per!pecti+e"0 #.e)ontin /6H;F /6H0F dling-Smee, .aland and ?eldman ;::0F Gottlie' /66;8 #Day, .aland and dling-Smee ;::08#$ate!on /6HH8"

/6


20/41

/66;8" %hi! i! po!!i'le than*! to an on-going proce!! of enactment #Maturana and

Karela /66;F Karela and Dupuy /66;8, the organi!m ! acting that i! perceptuall%

guided 'y it! o)n !pecific e+ol+ed(de+eloped a'ilitie! for *no)ledge, including it!

affordances #Gi'!on /6 68 from Kon Ue *Tll, /6;J8, phenotypic pla!ticity #4ampi!

and Guly

>uman! are !pecial niche-'uilding indi+idual(collecti+e actor!, from 'oth a

phylogenetic and ontogenetic per!pecti+e" %hey do not e i!t detached from their o)n

practice! 'y )hich they get to appropriate and tran!form their mean! and condition!of e i!tence" >uman practice! encompa!! material and !ym'olic a!pect!"

%ran!formation of materiality, idea!, cla!!ification!, repre!entation!, 'elief! and

+alue! are em'edded in our action!, 'y )hich they come into e i!tence them!el+e! 0H"

?or human!, all ecological relation! !hould include tho!e perception!, idea! and

+alue! through )hich they try to ma*e !en!e of their o)n action! #De!cola and

1al!!on /66JF Ellen /66JF >origan /6HH8" &t i! more a matter of connecting action

)ith meaning and per!onal(collecti+e !u' ecti+ity, than of lin*ing 'eha+ior )ith it!

determinant! #Geertz /6H0830@8""

%he anthropogeny of our !ocio-!ym'olic-material condition! of e i!tence )a!

already mentioned 'y 4arl Mar in The #ighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon

#/H7/-/H7;8 and the Contribution to a Criti5ue of +olitical #conom% #/H768"

Acti+ity produce !ocial relation!, in!titution! and technologie! )ith !pecific

con!e uence! for our #and other!, cone!pecific! or not8 e+ol+ing(de+eloping li+e!"

%hrough continuou! determinate(contingent proce!!e! of action-in-

relationality(relation-in-acti+ity, o' ecti+ization and in!titutionali!ation, hi!torically

and culturally !ituated human! 'uild material-!ym'olic !tructure! that can 'e

!ta'ilized a! !caffolding foundation! for future proce!!e! and !tructuration! to

emerge" %herefore, )e can !pea* of an ecological niche that i! the po!!i'ility for our

o)n human#i!ed8 e i!tence )here )e recognize our!el+e! a! heir! of our

predece!!or! pre+iou! practice!, repre!entation! and e perience!, a )orld that )e

0H See #Mar , /6 7 Q/H768#cf" #&ngold /6HJF 1


21/41

)ill ine+ita'ly change, a! our children and grandchildren )ill do ali*e )hen li+ing

their o)n e i!tence!"

%han*! to our e+ol+ed(de+eloped !*ill! for cooperati+e practical *no)ledge

and *no)ledge in practice in !pecific !ocial and politico-economic e+olutionaryconte t!, )e ha+e 'een a'le to produce(tran!form our material!ym'olic condition! of

e i!tence and the type of articulation! 'et)een li+ing and non-li+ing actant!, opening

up our cogniti+e, practical and relational )orld to ne) amplification!('ifurcation!

that, in turn, ha+e triggered(!caffolded ne) capacitie! and a!!em'lage! for further

creati+e en+ironmental appropriation! and tran!formation!, )ith important

e+olutionary con!e uence! #?uente! ;::6F Richer!on and $oyd ;::@8"

$io!ociocultural affordance! and the !caffolding propertie! of our !omatic ande tra!omatic !ociocultural )or*! #Shore /66J8, all articulated dynamically and

locally )ith !pecific !elected propertie! of our !urrounding!, ma*e up our actual and

po!!i'le )orld!"

&n the!e )e ha+e to al!o include political and economical )orld! in )hich autonomy,

*no)ledge and deci!ion i! !ocially di!tri'uted" Social !pecie! !ho) !ocial hierarchie! and ran*!, 'eing

that !tatu! ha! a !trong influence in the uality of life and )ell'eing of group mem'er! #Sapol!*y

;::@8" >uman practice! and ideologie! in re!pect to !ocial organization and po)er, !ocial di!tri'ution

of economic depri+ation, ine uality, di!crimination, e ploitation, food !carcity, ri!* e po!ure, etc", areimpo!ed and em'odied 'y people depending on life-!tyle! 06, )hich in turn are !trongly related to

!ocio-political, economical and ideological factor!"

@"@" DEKE. 1MEN%A. N&C>ES ? R DEKE. 1MEN%"

Anthropogenic en+ironment! al!o form an integral part of )hat 4arola Stotz #Stotz ;::H8

under!tand! 'y de)elopmental niche construction , a !et of !ta'le en+ironmental non-linear

interrelated re!ource!, that are pro+ided 'y the organi!m !pecie! antece!!or!, it! parent!I and

it! o)n e perience throughout life #=e!t and 4ing ;::H30H@8"

%he concept of ontogenetic niche refer! to ho) !pecie!-typical 'eha+ior! de+elop through

acti+e, conte t-dependent proce!!e!" %hi! de+elopmental en+ironmental niche i! con!tituted 'y a

comple !y!tem of agent! and agencie!, 'lurring the artificiality of the Nature and Nurture

06 &n the )ay of practice! and ideologie! of nutrition, diet, p!ycho'iological rythm!, drug con!umption, e po!ure to pollution and to ic!, !tre!!, emotional in!ult, )or* condition!, lei!ure and re!torati+e acti+itie!, e erci!e, !ociality, medicaland health e perience!, life-!tyle! may ha+e enduring con!e uence! on health and 'iological re!pon!i+ene!!"

;/


22/41

dichotomy" &t include! molecular, cellular, ecological and !ocial # and political6 e perience and

memory, plu! all other pre- @:, peri- and po!tnatal de+elopmental re!ource! for the organi!m"

%he!e en+ironmental influence! ha+e comple )ay! of affecting the epigenetic! of

human 'iology throughout the life cour!e, e!pecially during critical de+elopmental !tage! 'ut

al!o through the generation!@/

" Ouality of home en+ironment #Macco'y ;:::8, and their com'ined po!!i'le emergent

con!e uence! )ith other +aria'le! !uch a! po+erty #$radley and Cor)yn ;::;F 1ropper and Rigg

;:: F 4im-Cohen, Moffitt, Ca!pi and %aylor ;::@8, trauma and cata!trophe!, affect people !

early and later de+elopmental niche!" Kulnera'ility, +iolence and a'u!e, including !tre!! and

p!ychoemotional !uffering ha+e effect! on cell meta'oli!m, o idation and aging #Cher*a!, A+i+,

Kald2!, >un*in, Gardner et al" ;::J8 @;"

Social interaction and relation! )ith parent!, !i'ling!, and other! that pro+ide VnurturingVand caring, !timulation and affordance! for de+elopment #Al'ert! ;::H8, interaction and learning

are all part of the de+elopmental niche" 1arenting !tyle! are directi+e !ocial, cogniti+e and

emotional factor! for children ! de+elopment" 1arental practice! facilitate progeny in-coming

into a !emi-!tructured )orld of em'odied e perience!, attention guidance, opportunitie! for

learning, action, o'!er+ation, participation, communication, and monitoring of appropriate

engaged(engagional interacti+ity"

!. BRAIN, MIND AND KNOWLEDGE. RETHINKING COGNITION.

7"/" C GN&%&K&SM3 $& - L1'1S ? %>E $RA&N, MEC>AN - L1'1S ? %>E

M&ND

Cogniti)ism i! a +ery !pecific orientation of the 'road interdi!ciplinary re!earch

programme of the Cogniti+e Science!, ha+ing reached a hegemonic !tatu! in

academia, re!earch, financial !upport, education, and the media, !preading o+er on

popular thin*ing and pu'lic opinion"

Cogniti)ism repre!ented a !hift to $eha+iori!m tradition3 not only our inner

mechani!m! of 'eha+ior could 'e empirically !tudied 'ut they e plained animal and

human conductF 'eha+ior i! )hat happen! in the mind"

Mind and human beha)ior ha+e 'een 'rainedI, 'eing that, a! any other

organ, it could 'e under the empirical and methodological frame)or* of the .ife

@: $efore reproduction in human! there i! a )hole 'ioculture of parenting, ecological, economical, political and *in!hip

ideopractice! that precede conception, ha+ing important !tocha!tic effect! in progeny during em'ryogene!i!, foetu!de+elopment, peri- and po!t-natal e perience! and life cour!e #Ramirez Goicoechea ;:/;8@/ See #$ygren, 4aati and Ed+in!!on ;::/8, #4aati, $ygren and Ed+in!!on ;::;8, #1em'rey, $ygren, 4aati, Ed+in!on,

North!tone et al" ;::J8, #Ro!e'oom, +an der Meulen, Ra+elli, !mond, $ar*er et al" ;::/8, #.umey /66;8"@; ?or an in-depth account of the 'iop!ychological and 'io!ocioculturaly of epigenetic! !ee #Ramirez Goicoechea ;:/08

;;


23/41

Science!" %raditionally 'elonging to the >umani!tic field!, mind and 'eha+ior )ere

naturali.ed , therefore emptied of any !ociocultural, hi!torical or 'iographical

content"

%hi! 'io- logos of the mind fell into Neodar)inian theorie! and it! mo!t important

tenet!3 duali!tic epi!temology of genetic determini!m, en+ironmental e!!entiali!mand reification, uni+er!al a uitecture of the 'rain and linear e+olutionary thin*ing

#!ee a'o+e8 "

A! brain&mind centered, Cogniti+i!m focu! primarily on cognition o+er any other

mental phenomena" Rea!oning and propo!itional thin*ing, cla!!ification!, pro'lem-

!ol+ing, planning, are )hat human mental proce!!e! are a'out" &n that, it i! uite

aligned )ith Euroamerican modern "ationalism " Uprooted from all the re!t of God !

creation!, and empo)ered to !u'ordinate them to their need! and goal!@0

, De!carte!came to found our !uperiority on our ontological and moral difference that placed u!

in a uni ue genre for a uni ue and only !pecie!, homo #Carolu! .inneo, S%stema

Naturae , / 7H8"

?ocu! i! in the thin*ing indi+idual de+oid of any !u' ecti+e in+ol+ement )ith it!

#hi!(her8 en+ironment Cogniti+i!m a!!ume the epi!temic agent a! a di!-em'odied, a-

conte tual, a-!ocial, a-hi!torical, thin*ing organi!m emptied of any con!tituti+e life

hi!tory and e perience of interconnectedne!! and relationality" Accordingly )ith a

rationali!tic primacy, there i! a !trong computational digital approach" Cognition i!

e uated to information, either recei+ing it a! input or producing it a! output "

Capacitie! are inherited and depend mainly on genotypeF they are hard-)ired in

the indi+idual ! 'rain a! an in!tance of the !pecie!" A real&out&there en+ironment

place cogniti+e challenge! for the epi!temic agent to !ol+e than*! to it! e+ol+ed

genetic capacitie!F a !et of algorithmic rule! help de-codifing the real in the form of

repre!entation!" &f )e *no) the!e algorithm! then )e *no) ho) the mind )or*! and

ho) cognition i! produced" Cogniti+i!t practitioner! di!mi!! cro!!-cultural

comparati+e re!earch 'ecau!e they a!!ume that the 'rain )or*! the !ame )ay

e+ery)here, irre!pecti+ely of time, place, per!onal and collecti+e e perience! and

en+ironment! #Dominguez /66 8 @@"

Another theoretical de+elopment of the Cogniti+e Science Re!earch program,

!ometime! lin*ed )ith the former, ha! 'een that of omain Specificit% and mind

@0 And God 'le!!ed them3 and God !aid unto them, $e fruitful, and multiply, and repleni!h the earth, and !u'due itF andha+e dominion o+er the fi!h of the !ea, and o+er the fo)l of the air, and o+er e+ery li+ing thing that mo+eth upon theearthI, Gene!i! /3;H"@@%he !tudy of neurocultures can refute thi! a!!umption"

;0


24/41

Modularit%" Stemming from ?odor ! modularity theory of peripheral perceptual

de+ice! #?odor /6H08, human! are thought to ha+e hard-)ired, genetically

incorporated cogniti+e de+ice! that are !uppo!ed to encap!ulate a particular domain

of the )orld, in the )ay of 4antian !ynthetic a priori , gi+ing !tructure to the

information that come! from different !en!ory de+ice!@7

" Uni+er!al modular capacitie! )ould e plain, it i! argued, )hy children learn !ome thing! more ea!ily

than other!, at !imilar age! and in all culture!, i"e" language #Chom!*y /67 8 #'ut !ee

#Ramirez Goicoechea ;::J8"

An epi!temological and paradigmatic principle of theorie! of Modularit% i! that

all human! !hare a common cogniti+e architecture in the form of mental uni+er!al!"

%hi! )ould e plain )hat are en+i!aged a! uni+er!al continuitie! in )orld ontologie!

and natural inds , p!ychological plau!i'ility, and common sense " E+olutionary p!ychology, a! a neodar)inian account, po!it thi! uni+er!ality in the e+olution of the

sapiens mind to 1lei!tocene condition!, in!i!ting on a uni+er!al genetically endo)ed

intuiti)e ps%cholog%, Bhar)ired in the 'rain , that )ould 'e e)o ed for particular

cogniti+e ta!*! #$oyer /66@8"

Some *ind of e+ol+ed 'rain in our !pecie! i! an e+olutionary fact, although )hat

a module may 'e i! in under di!cu!!ion @J" %he !ame can 'e !aid a'out !pecificity at

particular degree! of comple ity and mental ta!* @" 1arado ically, the!e theorie!

ignore neuro!cientific re!earch and comparati+e animal cognition, among other

neglect! #!ee #1an!*epp and 1an!*epp ;:::8" Another fla) i! the ignorance of

!ociocultural and hi!torical mental di+er!ity, e!pecially )hen it come! to defining

con!tituti+e 'oundarie!, !emantic!, practice! and +alue! #De!cola /66J8F #>+iding

/66J8F #A*imichi /66J8 through )hich practical *no)ledge and *no)ledgea'le

practice are con!trued #i"e" fol* ta onomie!, cla!!ificatory !y!tem! and natural

inds8" &n!tead of innate gi)ens , mental !pecialization! could 'e 'etter under!tood a!

@7 %he natural domain #Atran /66:F Carey and Spel*e /66@8, the phy!ical domain #Gellman /6678, the !ocial domain#%re+arthen /6H:F >ir!chfeld /6HHF G5mez and NWXez /66HF =hiten /66/F $yrne /6678 #$aron-Cohen /66/8, the mentaland p!ychological domain #Co!mide!, %oo'y and $ar*o) /66;8, the moral #=right /6678 and religiou! domain #$oyer/66@8, communication and language #Chom!*y /67 F /6H:F 1in*er and $loom /66@F ?ernald /66;8, the !ym'olic #Sper'er /6H7F .e!lie /6H a8, !e and mating #Ridley ;::0F $u!! /66@8, the technological domain #Mithen /66J8, and !o forth,)hich it i! !uppo!ed that )e ha+e a !pecific e+ol+ed innate cogniti+e module"@J 1aul Griffith! #Griffith! ;::@8 di!tingui!he! 'et)een different *ind! of module!3 de+elopmental, functional and +irtual"All of them mean different thing! for E+olutionary 1!ychologi!t! and Neurop!ychologi!t!" Mental module! do not ha+e tocorre!pond nece!!arily )ith neurofunctional module!" =hat may appear a! a !pecific module may 'e only an a!pect of the

performance of a functional neural !y!tem" $e!ide!, it i! po!!i'le that different part! of the 'rain may 'elong to the !ame

functional module that, not)ith!tanding, i! the outcome of different de+elopmental module!" Module! can 'e !emi-decompo!ed a! !u'!y!tem! )ithin a hierarchical !y!tem )ith )hich it relate! a! it doe! )ith other !u'!y!tem!, 'eing thattheir inner dynamic! i! the principal motor of de+elopment"@ "eferential open )ord! #name!, +er'!, ad ecti+e!8 are proce!!ed 'y different neural !y!tem! than closed one!#connecti+e!, pronoun!, determinant!, ad+er'!8 #Ne+ille /66/8"

;@


25/41

the !tocha!tic outcome! of dynamic !y!tem! of e+ol+ed(de+eloping @H a'ilitie!

interacting )ithin !pecific !ocioecological en+ironment!"

Modularity and domain !pecificity theorie! of mind deny any *ind of general

intelligence a! in 1iaget ! p!ychology" $ut not all mental proce!!e! are modular #i"e"

attention8" ?urthermore, general capacitie! do not need to 'e le!! functional than!pecific one! #4armiloff-Smith /66;8" Conceptual 'lending, a-modality and cro!!-

modality are po!!i'le candidate! for holi!tic mental capacitie! at !ome degree! of

hierarchical comple ity" Cro!!-modality ha! to do )ith *no)ledge that i! applied

from one module to another, 'ecau!e a *ind of lin* ha! 'een e!ta'li!hed 'et)een

domain!, a! in metaphor Q a mental a'ility - and conceptual 'lending" Kico already

mentioned that our capacity for !pecialization i! limited #?ernandez /66/8 'ut )e

ha+e enormou! po!!i'ilitie! for com'ining old thing! into ne) one! in ne) conte t!"&n fact, cro!!-modality i! one of the main !ource! for creati+ity, in&re-no+ation and

diffu!ion, lying at the core of sapiens mental e+olution @6" Cultural model! that

pri+ilege !ome !en!ory-perceptual mental e perience! o+er other! #?eld /6H@8, and

!trongly in!titutionalized meaning! and inference! #$runer /66J8F #Ouinn and Strau!!

/6608, are con!traint!(po!!i'ilitie! for 'oth !pecificity and cro!!-modality 7: "

Modular theorie! rely al!o on a certain mecano/lego paradigm, typical of

=e!tern mechanicism #Shore /66J8" %he mind )ould 'e an articulated !tructure )ith

no centrality nor neigh'oring interdependence of element!, in )hich the )hole i! the

!um of it! part!" A functional geograph% of mental proce!!e! deri+e from thi!

theoretical po!ition" Clinical !tudie! of 'rain damage and p!ychological impairment

ha+e gi+en !ome e perimental foundation to thi! a!!ertion" $rain acti+ity and it!

localization can 'e mea!ured 'y 'lood flo) to !pecific area! at !pecific moment!

than*! to the late!t fM"I #functional Magnetic Re!onance &maging8 technology"

$rain laterality for language i! one of the e ample! more fre uently put

for)ard in thi! *ind of argument" %he cognition(emotion duali!m i! al!o 'a!ed on

thi! 'rain cartography3 left 'rain hemi!phere for cognition and language, right 'rain

!ide for emotion #Cacioppo and 1etty /6H/F %uc*er /6H/8"

Some *ind of 'rain locali.ations may 'e accepted for !ome proce!!e! and

degree! of mental comple ity" $ut neurologic dynamic! and mental ela'oration are@H &nduced 'y cogniti)e $indo$s #Gottlie' /6 /8 acti+ated chronotopically during ontogeny for !elected learning and

e periencing"@6 E+olutionary !tage! may 'e !een a! different moment! of functional !peciali!ation of !ome neural !tructure! together )ith the openne!! that increa!ed connecti+ity - in the )ay of cro!!-modality, conceptual 'lending, etc" - 'ring! a'out"7: &ndo-European language! !ho) a canonical !tructure of thematic role! #agent, o' ect, recipient8 #Aitchi!on /66J8 thatma*e! enhance! !ome thin*ing-lingui!tic !tructure! at the co!t of other!"

;7


26/41

comple enough to 'e re!tricted e clu!i+ely to !ome di!tincti+e region!" Mo!t

a'ilitie! are comple enough to 'e di!tri'uted in !e+eral area!" Sight alone implie!

the inter+ention of more than 0: different 'rain area! #4ellman /66H8" $rain area!

may al!o 'e co-opted and !hared at !ome point for different mental acti+itie! #Cal+in

/66 8" Some corte area! may 'e poly-modal, ela'orating information from +ariou!!en!ory-perceptual de+ice!" &n e+olution, a! in de+elopment and in 'rain

reorganization after neurological damage, !ome part! increa!e their connecti+ity for

multiple ta!*!" Se+ere neurological impairment point to the enormou! fle i'ility of

the 'rain #$attro ;:::8 7/ "

$oth hemi!phere! are connected through the corpu! callo!um and are

em'edded in multiple mental proce!!e! #Ro!! and Me!ulam /6 68" %here i! e+idence

of the left hemi!phere modulating neurological right !ide acti+ity a! )ell a!organizing !ome !ocial manife!tation! of the emotional !phere" Re-afferent

neurological connection! of perceptual area! in the corte are connected 'oth to the

prefrontal e+aluati+e corte and to the lim'ic !y!tem #.eDou /66H8F #1an*!epp

;::/8, )hich i! an e+ol+ed trait of modern human! #Reyna ;::;8" &t ha! 'een pro+ed

the rele+ance of the amygdala in !ocial udgment! #Adolph!, %ranel and Dama!io

/66@8"Many mental !tructure! in the corte are triggered 'y the lim'ic !y!tem,,

)hich, in turn, i! fundamental for memory, mental proce!!ing #.aird, =egener, >alaland Szegda /6H;8, deci!ion-ma*ing #Dama!io /66@8 and planning"

%he ontogeny of the!e !pecialization! and their po!!i'le 'rain localization!

!hould not 'e ignored #Gi'!on and 1eter!en /66/F Gi'!on /66J88" At 'irth, 'rain

hemi!phere! ha+e redundant capacitie! that ontogeny )ill reduce3 left hemi!pheric

!pecialization for language !tart! around the fir!t year #Schei'el /66/8, !o doe!

emotional corte !tructuring in the right hemi!phere #Da+id!on /6H@8" ?or !omething

to 'e general or to !ho) ethological and(or ethnographic coincidence, it doe! notneed to 'e genetic- 1renatal de+elopment Q em'ryonic and foetal - and generati+e

entrenchment of epigenetic proce!! can 'ecome important con!traint!(po!!i'ilitie!

for the 'rain and it! acti+ity, 'ecoming di!tincti+e path! for mental directi+ene!! and

!pecificity"

All in all, it !eem! 'etter to !pea* of a diffu!ed modularity and a !oft 'rain

7/ %he !uperior coliculu! and parietal corte !ho) poly-modality" &n congenitally deaf children, parietal and temporal area!

normally engaged in !peech ela'oration and comprehen!ion are in+aded during de+elopment 'y +i!ual ner+e! re!pon!i+e to peripheral +i!ion #Ne+ille /66/8" $lind people, dolphin! and 'at! proce!! !ound and eco-location in the !ame 'rain area)here !eeing people ela'orate !patial information, )ith depth!, di!tance! and !hape!, almo!t li*e in 0D" 4ine!ic and haptice perience in 'lind people Q a! in $raille reading - are al!o mainly proce!!ed in the +i!ual corte area #Maturana and Karela/66;8" %a i-dri+er! are )ell *no)n to ha+e e panded their neural connecti+ity for !patial function!"

;J


27/41

geography"

7";" A NEUR S C&A. EK .KED(DEKE. 1ED M&ND

&n a higher degree compared )ith other primate! #>ollo)ay /66J8 hominid!

and e!pecially homo !apien! are 'orn 'efore the 'rain i! fully gro)n, )hich )ill

continue out of the uteru! en+ironment"

ur e+ol+ed 'rain fini!he! gro)ing in !ize and connecti+ity than*! to e perience

in !pecial en+ironment! during ontogeny, the generati+e field of 'iological-organic,

p!ychological, !ociocultural and hi!torical-political relation!hip! of the indi+idual in

hi!(her life cour!e"

At 'irth, our 'rain )eigh! a uarter of )hat it )ill a! an adult" &n the fir!t year,

the human head gro)! more than J: of it! !ize at 'irth #1a!!ingham /6H;8" %hi!gro)th !lo)! little 'y little, 'ut connecti+ity and !tructuring of the corte do not,

continuing until adole!cence, )hen the myelini!ation of all ner+e fi'er! i! completed

#?u!ter /6H68, #Gi'!on /66/8" $et)een ; and J month! of age, !ynapto-gene!i!

multiplie! 'y ten than*! to the profu!ion of dendrite!" At thi! time, the num'er of

!inap!e! i! dou'le than that of an adult" Around /; month! of age, mo!t of inacti+e

!ynap!i! and neuron! 'ecau!e of lac* of !timulation and reinforcement die #>e''

/6@6F 4ellman /66H83; #>uttenlocher /66@8F #=ie!el and >u'el /6J08" Many of 1iaget ! de+elopmental !tage! ha+e corre!pondence )ith neural myelini!ation and

the neurological change! it indicate! #Gi'!on /66J8"

Animal! )ith high encefali!ation, !uch a! primate!, al!o ha+e a long childhood

and youth, in )hich !ynap!i! !tructure! ta*e !hape through the !ocial interaction

pro+ided 'y parenting, play and further e perience" Compared )ith our clo!e non-

human primate relati+e!, infancy, childhood and youth are e+en longer in the

anatomically modern human!"

.ong ontogenie! entail 'ig parental and family in+e!tment in term! of nurture,

care and !ocialization " A 'ig part of 'rain gro)th and !ynaptic !tructuring ta*e place

in the !ocial en+ironment of caregi+er! and !i'ling!, 'eing the peri-natal period a

!pecial moment for !timulation in all mammal! )ith important cogniti+e effect! in

the ne) 'orn" &nfant! e perience )ill 'e a *ey factor for neural connecti+ity, )hich

)ill progre!!i+ely 'e !haped 'y )ay of a particular(common !ociocultural !etting and

it! !ocializing manner!" Main !tructural net)or* 'uilding in the 'rain Q connecti+ity

and !tructuring of corte - fini!he! in adole!cence, a !pecific !tage of homo sapiens

life cour!e #$ogin /666 #/6HH88 in )hich ner+e fi're! myelini!ation i! completed,

;


28/41

coinciding )ith !e ual maturity and other important 'io!ociomental de+elopment!

#Gi'!on /66/F .oc*e and $ogin ;::J8 7; " Although neural !tructure! +ary in

fle i'ility for re-organization, con!traint! are not rule! and cortical neural

reorganization continue! in different degree! during lifetime #Edelman /66;8F

#Dreyfu! /6 68F #4o!to+ic /66:8"%he difficulty )hen !tudying the 'rain i! preci!ely that it! e!!ence relie! on it!

dynamic! more than it! !tructure" $eha+ior cannot 'e deduced from the map #Ste)art

and Cohen /66 8, 'ecau!e 'rain connecti+ity !tructure! and reorganize! it!elf )hile

neuronal !ynaptic acti+ity happen" ur 'rain, and e!pecially our neocorte , i! a

comple !elf-organized autopoietic !y!tem #Changeu /6HJ8F #Erdi /6HH8F #.aughlin,

McManu! and DVA uili /66:8, )here !tructuration ta*e! place in&the&ma ing "

&n conclu!ion, than*! to the !en!ory and mental openne!! of the 'a'y !gro)ing 'rain-in-the-'ody out-of the uteru!, )e can !pea* of an ecological 'rain

#$ate!on /6 ;8 that i! !ocially elicited, !caffolded and upgraded during hi!(her co-

ontogeny )ith hi!(her caregi+er! that pro+ide nurture, care under !pecific hi!toric,

ethnographic and !ocial condition! for the child ! further 'io!ociomental

de+elopment" %hat i! )hy )e can al!o !pea* of a !culpted #$ate! /6 68 encultured

brain #Do)ney and .ende ;::68"

7"0" E1&S%EM&C C MMUN&%&ES AND S&%UA%ED 4N =.EDGE

%he !ocial ecology of *no)ing i! normally neglected in mo!t cogniti+i!t

account!" $ut the social and the no$ing are part and parcel of our ecologically

e+ol+ed(de+eloped humanity"

4no)ledge i! produced in !ocial inter-acti+e, inter!u' ecti+e and engagional

!etting!, in )hich early !ocialization )or*! a! a generati+e entrenched em'odied

mental frame" Caregi+er! 'ring forth and !tructure the!e a'ilitie! in pre-+er'al

children than*! !en!orio-motor !timulation and p!ycho'iological organization of the

'a'y ! rythm!, 'ody language and emotional and indirect communication

#Schieffelin /66:8F #>endry ;::/8, guided and educated attention #$utter)orth

Larrett, /66/F 1al!!on, /66J8, infant #in8direct !peech #'a'ytal*, mothere!e8 #?ernald

/6H@8, anticipatory cogniti+e and emotional !timulation #zone of pro imal

de+elopment, #Kygot!*y /6 H88 and alternate participation a! in turn-ta*ing #>o'!on

7; Mental de+elopment i! cro!!-cultural in the human !pecie! #4onner /66/8F #Rogoff and Morelli /6H68 and !tronglydepend! on euro'io!ocial proce!!e!"

;H


29/41

;::;8" Socialization, a! a dialogical ethnographic and hi!torical !ituated teaching-

learning e perience, i! a !caffolding proce!! #$runer /6H08, )ith children pro+iding

de+elopmental clue! for adult! !tructuration of a !uita'le frame from )hich the child

)ill progre!!i+ely 'uild a !hared )orld of hi!(her o)n #in connection )ith that of

other!8" ?eature! are !aliently focu!ed demanding the !electi+e attention of the child,reinforcing )ith +alue and emotion )hat ha! 'een !elected #?ernald and Mazzie

/66/8, +arying )ithin !pecific lingui!tic and cultural conte t! 70" %he education of

attention found! !hared rule! #Mercer ;:::8 a'out )ay!, conte t! and rele+ance, of

)hat goe! on )ithout !aying, of )hat other! ma*e u! tru!t of )hat our #their!8 )orld

i! to 'e a'out, and )hich )e )ill in-corporate a! intuiti+e, !elf-e+ident and un-

ue!tioned *no)ledge" =hat the child learn! through oint attention and guided

di!co+ery #DVAndrade /6H/8 in an inter!u' ecti+e o'!er+ational and(or participatoryconte t i! to adopt a !pecific directi+e per!pecti+e, )here and ho) to loo*, li!ten,

)hat and )hen to pay attention to, ho) to 'uild up ne) *no)ledge from old one,

ho) to creati+ely re)or* pre+iou! mental ela'oration!, ho) to learn to learn

#$ate!on /6 ;8"

?or human!, the conte t for *no)ledge i! an upgraded one #$runer /6H083 that

of the *no)ing! and doing! of many generation!, in!cri'ed and e ternalized in a

di+er!ity of a materialized )orld of o' ect!, artifact! and tool! for memory #Donald

/6668, )here the hi!tory of the group ! material-!ym'olic practice! are o' ecti+ized

and re-pre!ented for #re8in-corporation" &ngold define! s ills a! the capa'ilitie! of

action and perception of the )hole organic 'eing !ituated in a richly !tructured

en+ironmentI that i! not inherited from one generation to another 'ut in-corporated

into the modus operandi of the de+eloping human organi!m through training and

e perience in the performance of particular ta!*!I#&ngold ;:::8378"

%hi! !tructuring doe! not deri+e only from a cultural hi!tory of o' ect!" &t ha!

+ery much to do )ith in!titutionalized relation! and relatedne!!, )ay! of learning

#Rogoff and Morelli /6H68, procedure! #Gentner and Ste+en! /6H08 and practical

*no)ledge a! em'odied no$&ho$s #i"e" habitus 8, collecti+e canonical u!e, a!

normati+e, e+aluati+e, ae!thetic and moral order! #Sinha /66J8 a! )ell a! !y!tem! of

+alidation, truth and legitimacy #?oucault /6668 that depend al!o on a !ocial,

economical and political une ual di!tri'ution in the acce!! and di!po!ition of mean!

and for *no)ledge" &t i! the constituti)e order of a !ocial !tructure !ituated

70 See # ch! and Schiefffelin /6H@8n, /6H@F #>ar*ne!! and Super /6H08F #Gro!!mann, Spangler, Sue!! and Unzner /6H78F#Sagi, .am', .e)*o)icz, Shoham, D+ir et al" /6H78F #1ye /6HJ8"

;6


30/41

cognition&in&practice #.a+e /6HH8 7@"

4no)ing i! a per!onal pro ect a! much a! it i! a !ocial one #Marchand ;:/:8"

?rom an e+olutionary, ethological, p!ychological and ontogenetic point of +ie), the

tan &thin er i! a collecti+ity Q to )hich indi+idual! recogni!e and feel them!el+e! a!

co-participant!(mem'er!, in different degree! of participation #.a+e and =enger /66/8, identification and commitment"

&n that re!pect, )e all 'elong to epistemic communities " %he!e are not

populations , aggregate! of indi+idual! that !hare *no)ledge or meme!, )hich are

thought to 'e contagiou! li*e +iru!e!" &n!tead, they are collecti+e producer! of

particular *no)ledge depending on their acti+e po!itioning in a net)or* of other

epi!temic communitie!" Epi!temic communitie! are normally framed 'y in!titutional

!etting! and re!ource!, )ithin a !ocial and political di!tri'ution of *no)ledge" %heyare defined 'y a practice of interthin ing #Mercer ;:::8" A! in e pert !y!tem!,

cooperati+e thin*ing i! an e+olutionary and de+elopmental human practice, )hich ha! 'een

demon!trated +ery !ucce!!ful )hen !ol+ing pro'lem! or unu!ual ta!*!" Mental challenge!,

re!ource!, and tool! are defined and e+aluated locally depending on many

interrelated pro imal and di!tal factor! #Al+ard ;::08, con!tantly defined and re-

defined along acti+ity(interacti+ity, contri'uting to the on-going rede!cription of

rele+ant conte t! and !ituation! for intellectual(collecti+e epi!temic agency" &n thi!

practice people e change and produce *no)ledge 'y mean! of their dialogical

inter!u' ecti+ity, di!cu!!ion and negotiation, depending on !tatu!, po!ition, po)er,

!eniority, intellectual, di!cour!e and leader!hip de teritie! #GYt!ch ;:/;8 and

peripheral participation #.a+e and =enger /66/8" Epi!temic outcome! are u!ually

e ternalized and in!cri'ed 'y mean! of a di+er!ity of technological de+ice! and more

or le!! pu'licly accounted for, if not *ept for !ecreti+e purpo!e! in e clu!i+e 'ounded

group! 77"

7"@" M&ND, $ D , AND E 1ER&ENCE" C GN&%& N &N 1RAC%&CE"

%he mind('ody duali!m i! another hi!torical and !ociocultural intellectual and

practical proce!! in our thin*ing tradition, ta*ing out of cognition )hate+er relate! to

the !en!e! and emotion!"

&n the mind('ody duali!tic approach to cognition, the epi!temic indi+idual

i! ta*en a! totally di!-em'odied, ignoring any, 'iographical and e periential

7@ &nteracti+e conte t!, the definition of the !ituation, actor! e pectancie!, and ta!*onomy #Dougherty and 4eller /6H;8 areal!o ingredient! of thi! !ituatedne!!" #cf" #Ramirez Goicoechea /66/877 &"e" !ect!F go+ernment committee!, intelligence net)or*!, terrori!t cell!, etc"

0:


31/41

condition of the *no)er" %he 'rain i! the head uarter! of our clean-of-fle!h thought!"

$ut the mind ha! to 'e under!tood a! the emergent outcome of !y!tem! of !y!tem! of

neuronal connection! in our 'rain-in-the-'ody )ith the-re!t-of-the-'ody" An a'!ent

'ody per!pecti+e i! o'li+iou! of any *ind of !u' ecti+ity3 emotion!, de!ire!,

moti+ation, intention, all of them corporal-mental )or*ing! that imply different*ind! of !u' ecti+e in+ol+ement" nly through our 'ody can )e really produce

*no)ledge, a! the inter)ea+ing of cognition, memory, practice and emotion in an

eco-!ocial en+ironment"

During the late 6: !, the concept of em'odiment ha! 'ecome a *ey concept in

interdi!ciplinary approache! to *no)ledge" Em'odiment theorie! #Lohn!on /6H 8F

#.a*off /6H 8F #Lohn!on and .a*off /6668F #1utnam /6668 !pea* of cogniti+e

!tructure! that emerge from recurrent !en!ory-motor pattern! that allo) for action to 'e perceptuall% guided #cf" infra8" Cognition depend! on the *ind of e perience! that

)e ha+e than*! to a 'ody 7J em'edded in an encompa!!ing 'iological, p!ychological

and cultural conte t #Karela, %homp!on et al" /66/83 it i! embodied no$ledge "

.et u! ta*e the ca!e for mo+ement" &n e periential !en!orioperception,

conceptuali!ation and !ome *ind of motricity are 'lended, producing )hat ha! 'een

named a! embodied no$ledge " %e!t! implying mental rotation acti+ate! 'rain area!

in+ol+ed in phy!ical rotation of o' ect! )hen trying to turn them around for 'etter

+ie)ing #=indi!ch'erger, .amm, $auer and Mo!era ;::08" Similarly, )hen thin*ing

of a +er', hemodynamic acti+ation of pre-motor dor!al and po!terior parietal area!

in+ol+ed i! to 'e found, )hich doe! not happen )ith name!, !ho)ing that there i! a

clo!e lin* 'et)een +er'al repre!entation and +i!uo-!patial action-orientated

*no)ledge #$erlingeri, Crepaldi, Ro'erti, Scialfa, .uzzatti et al" ;::H8"

Sen!orio-motor connection! can 'e e!ta'li!hed a! )ell for mirror-neuron! in

imitation #Rizzolatti, ?adiga, Galle!e and ?oga!!i /66JF &aco'oni, =ood!, $ra!!,

$e**ering, Mazziotta et al" /6668, empathic identification #Ramachandran ;:::8,

and +icariou! e periencing and !uffering" $ody mo+ement i! important for the

de+elopment of mathematical conceptual thin*ing, a! ha! 'een !ho)n in different

cultural !etting! #)hich doe! not entail that children de+oided of motricity may not

achie+e thi! *ind of thin*ing 'y other mean!, through other em'odied )ay! deri+ed

from 'rain pla!ticity and other re-de!cri'ed e perience!8"

Ultimately, thi! conception of *no)ledge i! not phenomenological"

E periential cognition doe! not preclude inference, a'!tract or formal thin*ing" Not

7J %he notion of bod%that & am u!ing here i! a )ide one that include! !en!orioperception, proprioception, cene!the!ia,mo+ement and 4yne!ic!, conciou!ne!! and a)arene!!, neural di!tri'uted organi!ation and connecti+ity, etc"

0/


32/41

e)er%thing need! to 'e pre+iou!ly e perienced a! !uch" Di!-em'odied *no)ledge i!

po!!i'le than*! to the recur!i+ity of *no)ledge production in )hich 'ody a)arene!!

i! not pre!ent in our )or*ing memory, neither may 'e conte t nor

hi!torical('iographical condition! of *no)ledge production" A'!tract concept! and

propo!itional thin*ing can 'e thought a! the !tocha!tic re!ult of dynamic !elf-organized proce!!e! of de!cription, re-de!cription and re-rede!cription #4armiloff-

Smith /66;8 of repetiti+e pattern! made po!!i'le than*! to !pecial type! and grade!

of e+ol+ed and de+eloped neuronal connecti+ity, in )hich the !ucce!!i+e cycle! of

emergent *no)ledge are progre!!i+ely di!-em'odied and de-hi!toricized, 'ecoming

autonomou! and dependentl% independent 7 " nce in motion, they may )or* a! ne)

frame! for further *no)ledge production, e+en po!!i'le 'ecoming attractor! for

further !tocha!tic epi!temic outcome!7H

" %hat i! ho) further degree! of a'!tractionare produced, communicated and materialized"

Cognition and emotion are mental acti+itie! that ha+e al!o 'een !plit in

=e!tern account! of )hat the mind i! 76" %he role of the lim'ic !y!tem, the amygdala

and the emotion! ha! 'een pointed out 'y m

bioculturalapproaches.doc

Documents