Abstract
There is evidence that the sharing of intentions was an important factor in the evolution of humans’ unique cognitive abilities. Here, for the first time, we formally model the coevolution of jointly intentional behavior and cumulative culture, showing that rapid techno-cultural advance goes hand in hand with the emergence of the ability to participate in jointly intentional behavior. Conversely, in the absence of opportunities for significant techno-cultural improvement, the ability to undertake jointly intentional behavior is selected against. Thus, we provide a unified mechanism for the suppression or emergence of shared intentions and collaborative behavior in humans, as well as a potential cause of inter-species diversity in the prevalence of such behavior.
Highlights
It has been hypothesized that the evolution of modern human cognition was catalyzed by the development of jointly intentional modes of behavior
A high degree of collaborative behavior amongst early hominins relative to other great apes aided the development of the rich cognitive abilities found in modern humans
Our model provides a novel mechanism for this: the social structure within demes combines with the presence or absence of shared intentions and the exogenous technological opportunities of the epoch (α) to give varying rates of techno-cultural accumulation
Summary
It has been hypothesized that the evolution of modern human cognition was catalyzed by the development of jointly intentional modes of behavior. A high degree of collaborative behavior amongst early hominins relative to other great apes aided the development of the rich cognitive abilities found in modern humans. This is known as as the shared intentionality hypothesis [1] or the Vygotskian intelligence hypothesis [2,3,4]. Intentional action pervades human existence, from the mundanity of you and your partner choosing a color of wallpaper for your house to the exquisite plays of your favorite sports team. The most individualistic of the social sciences, concepts that embody shared intentions, such as the ‘firm’ and the ‘household’, are routinely used as units of agency
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