engleski

Routes to the Convergent Evolution of Cognition

Is Your Toddler as Smart as a Crow? No. Crows may be smarter than apes. These are just two examples of headlines of news articles discussing scientific reports of evidence for the convergent evolution between crows and primates, including human and non- human ones. However, evidence for convergent evolution of cognition is not just an interesting quirk. The process of convergence can provide a valuable insight into the evolution of cognition. Here we demonstrate how possible cases of the convergent evolution of cognition can provide an insight into the nature of the evolution of cognition. First, we introduce the concept of convergent evolution. Second, we discuss how natural selection and other processes may act on cognition and the way in which these processes can lead to the convergent evolution of cognition. Third, we discuss candidates of convergence and the processes that can best explain these candidates. Finally, we reflect on what these proposed cases of convergence tell us about the nature of the evolution of cognition.

convergent evolution ; cognition

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