Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book argues for genetic specification of at least some cognitive capacities, their explanations for patterns of cultural recurrence do not necessarily hinge on nativist assumptions. It also argues that cognitive science, along with certain concepts of neo-Darwinian evolutionary biology which it imports, are premised upon a circular but powerful ideology. It provides cognitive and evolutionary explanations for the global recurrence of certain social/cultural phenomena. The book argues that cognitive research increasingly supports a view of the mind as constructed substantially out of kludges. It explores that modularity is only found at the margins of the mind, in its perceptual/input systems rather than in the heart of mental life where conscious, higher-level cognitive processes and the fixation of belief take place.