Abstract
The basic human ability to treat quantitative information can be divided into two parts. With proto-arithmetical ability, based on the core cognitive abilities for subitizing and estimation, numerosities can be treated in a limited and/or approximate manner. With arithmetical ability, numerosities are processed (counted, operated on) systematically in a discrete, linear, and unbounded manner. In this paper, I study the theory of enculturation as presented by Menary (2015) as a possible explanation of how we make the move from the proto-arithmetical ability to arithmetic proper. I argue that enculturation based on neural reuse provides a theoretically sound and fruitful framework for explaining this development. However, I show that a comprehensive explanation must be based on valid theoretical distinctions and involve several stages in the development of arithmetical knowledge. I provide an account that meets these challenges and thus leads to a better understanding of the subject of enculturation.
Highlights
I focus on a particular stage in the development of mathematical cognition that is of high general scientific and philosophical importance
There is a growing amount of data suggesting that our first ability to treat observations in terms of quantities comes from core cognitive systems we already possess as infants and share with many nonhuman animals
I will show that the move from proto-arithmetic to arithmetic poses a key question in explaining mathematical cognition, and the enculturation
Summary
The basic human ability to treat quantitative information can be divided into two parts. With proto-arithmetical ability, based on the core cognitive abilities for subitizing and estimation, numerosities can be treated in a limited and/or approximate manner. Numerosities are processed (counted, operated on) systematically in a discrete, linear, and unbounded manner. I study the theory of enculturation as presented by Menary (2015) as a possible explanation of how we make the move from the proto-arithmetical ability to arithmetic proper. I argue that enculturation based on neural reuse provides a theoretically sound and fruitful framework for explaining this development. I show that a comprehensive explanation must be based on valid theoretical distinctions and involve several stages in the development of arithmetical knowledge.
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