"975","Autocatalytic Closure in a Cognitive System: A Tentative Scenario for the Origin of Culture","This paper presents a speculative model of the cognitive mechanisms underlying the transition from episodic to mimetic (or memetic) culture with the arrival of Homo erectus, which Donald [1991] claims paved the way for the unique features of human culture. The model draws on Kauffman's [1993] theory of how an information-evolving system emerges through the formation of an autocatalytic network. Though originally formulated to explain the origin of life, this theory also provides a plausible account of how discrete episodic memories become woven into an internal model of the world, or worldview, that both structures, and is structured by, self-triggered streams of thought. Social interaction plays a role in (and may be critical to) this process. Implications for cognitive development are explored.","http://cogprints.org/975/","Gabora, L.","UNSPECIFIED","       <span class=\"person_name\">Gabora, L.</span>     (1998)  <a href=\"http://cogprints.org/975/\"><em>Autocatalytic Closure in a Cognitive System: A Tentative Scenario for the Origin of Culture.</em></a>       [Journal (On-line/Unpaginated)]           ","","1998-12"