giant fish, giant otters, and dinosaurs: “apparently irrational beliefs” in a Chipewyan community
Dan Sperber's recent formulations of Rationalism advocate a form of cognitive reductionism in the interpretation of “apparently irrational beliefs” that is contingent upon a linear model of brain functioning analogous to the operations of a computer. This paper considers several nonexistent bei...
| Published in: | American Ethnologist |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
1987
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/ae.1987.14.2.02a00030 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1525%2Fae.1987.14.2.02a00030 https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1525/ae.1987.14.2.02a00030 |
| Summary: | Dan Sperber's recent formulations of Rationalism advocate a form of cognitive reductionism in the interpretation of “apparently irrational beliefs” that is contingent upon a linear model of brain functioning analogous to the operations of a computer. This paper considers several nonexistent beings among the Chipewyan, arguing that such reductionism is invalid. As shared forms, their meaning is consistently indeterminate and temporally nonlinear, invalidating the assumptions of a Rationalist approach. [Chipewyan, Northern Athapaskans, rationalist, explanation, representations] |
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