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Cooperation, Cognition, and the Elusive Role of Joint Agency

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2025

Stephen M. Downes Open the ORCID record for Stephen M. Downes [Opens in a new window] ,
Patrick Forber Open the ORCID record for Patrick Forber [Opens in a new window]  and
Joshua Shepherd Open the ORCID record for Joshua Shepherd [Opens in a new window]
Stephen M. Downes
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Patrick Forber*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, Tufts University, Medford, MA USA
Joshua Shepherd
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, ICREA/Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
*
Corresponding author: Patrick Forber; Email: patrick.forber@tufts.edu
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Abstract

We propose an approach to the evolution of joint agency and cooperative behavior that contrasts with views that take joint agency to be a uniquely human trait. We argue that there is huge variation in cooperative behavior and that while much human cooperative behavior may be explained by invoking cognitively rich capacities, there is cooperative behavior that does not require such explanation. On both comparative and theoretical grounds, complex cognition is not necessary for forms of joint action or the evolution of cooperation. As a result, promising evolutionary approaches to cooperative behavior should explain how it arises across many contexts.

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Philosophy of Science , First View , pp. 1 - 20
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Philosophy of Science Association

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