?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=The+decoupled+representation+theory+of+the+evolution+of+cognition+-+a+critical+assessment&rft.creator=Christensen%2C+Dr+Wayne&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Mind&rft.subject=Animal+Cognition&rft.subject=Evolution&rft.description=Sterelny%E2%80%99s+Thought+in+a+Hostile+World+(2003)+presents+a+complex%2C+systematically+structured+theory+of+the+evolution+of+cognition+centered+on+a+concept+of+decoupled+representation.+Taking+Godfrey-Smith%E2%80%99s+(1996)+analysis+of+the+evolution+of+behavioral+flexibility+as+a+framework%2C+the+theory+describes+increasingly+complex+grades+of+representation+beginning+with+simple+detection+and+culminating+with+decoupled+representation%2C+said+to+be+belief-like%2C+and+it+characterizes+selection+forces+that+drive+evolutionary+transformations+in+these+forms+of+representation.+Sterelny%E2%80%99s+ultimate+explanatory+target+is+the+evolution+of+human+agency.+This+paper+develops+a+detailed+analysis+of+the+main+cognitive+aspects.+It+is+argued+that+some+of+the+major+claims+are+not+correct%3A+decoupled+representation+as+defined+doesn%E2%80%99t+capture+belief-like+representation%2C+and%2C+properly+understood%2C+decoupled+representation+turns+out+to+be+ubiquitous+amongst+multicellular+animals.+However+some+of+the+key+ideas+are+right%2C+or+along+the+right+lines%2C+and+suggestions+are+made+for+modifying+and+expanding+the+conceptual+framework.+&rft.date=2009-04-27&rft.type=Other&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6591%2F1%2FChristensen_2009_The_decoupled_representation_theory_of.pdf&rft.identifier=++Christensen%2C+Dr+Wayne++(2009)+The+decoupled+representation+theory+of+the+evolution+of+cognition+-+a+critical+assessment.+++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6591%2F