The origins of normativity: Assessor teaching and the emergence of norms

Authors

  • Laureano Castro UNED Associated Centre in Madrid (Spain).
  • Miguel A. Toro Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.13.21755

Keywords:

learning, assessor teaching, culture, cooperation, normative psychology

Abstract

Norms govern many aspects of human behaviour and facilitate coordination in cooperative activities. Regarding the origin of normativity, the most widely accepted hypothesis holds that it was shaped by processes of cultural selection between human groups with different rules on how to organise social life. However, in our opinion, we still lack an evolutionary explanation that would allow us to trace the origins of this incipient normativity in early humans. In this text we suggest that normativity appeared early in the development of our hominin ancestors as a consequence of the development of elementary teaching skills, understood not only as the ability to show others how to do something, but also as the ability to point out what one may and may not do.

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Author Biographies

Laureano Castro, UNED Associated Centre in Madrid (Spain).

Professor-Tutor of Biology at UNED Associated Centre in Madrid and tenured baccalaureate professor (Spain). He has a PhD in Biological Sciences and has published around a hundred scientific and communication papers on several aspects of theoretical biology related to the evolution of altruism, morality, cooperation, and culture.

Miguel A. Toro, Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain).

Professor Emeritus of Animal Production at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain). He has published research papers on population genetics, quantitative genetics, and genetic improvement applied to domestic species as well as on topics related to altruism, cooperation, and cultural evolution. He won the National Genetics Award from the Spanish Genetics Society in 2010 and the Leroy Award from the European Federation for Animal Science (EAAP) in 2011

References

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Castro L., Castro-Nogueira, L., Castro-Nogueira, M. A., & Toro, M. A. (2010). Cultural transmission and social control of human behavior. Biology and Philosophy, 25, 347–360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-010-9201-y

Castro, L., Castro-Nogueira, M. A., Villarroel, M., & Toro, M. A. (2019). The role of assessor teaching in human culture. Biological Theory, 14, 112–121. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13752-018-00314-2

Castro, L., Castro-Nogueira, M. A., Villarroel, M., & Toro, M. A. (2021). Assessor teaching and the evolution of human morality. Biological Theory, 16, 5–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13752-020-00362-7

Castro, L., & Toro, M. A. (2004). The evolution of culture: From primate social learning to human culture. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101, 10235–10240. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0400156101

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Schmidt, M. F., Butler, L. P., Heinz, J., & Tomasello, M. (2016). Young children see a single action and infer a social norm: Promiscuous normativity in 3-year-olds. Psychological Science, 27(10), 1360–1370. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616661182

Shipton, C., & Nielsen, M. (2018). The acquisition of biface knapping skill in the Acheulean. In L. D. di Paolo, F. di Vincenzo, & F. de Petrillo (Eds.), Evolution of primate social cognition (pp. 283–297). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93776-2_18

Sripada, C. S., & Stich, S. (2007). A framework for the psychology of norms. In P. Carruthers, S. Laurence, & S. Stich (Eds.), The innate mind, Volume 2: Culture and cognition. Oxford University Press.

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Published

2023-02-23

How to Cite

Castro, L., & Toro, M. A. (2023). The origins of normativity: Assessor teaching and the emergence of norms. Metode Science Studies Journal, (13), 61–67. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.13.21755
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Issue

Science. The genesis of ideas (vol. 13, 2023)

Section

Assembled life: A natural history of societies

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