Cristina Moya (University Of California, Davis)
As Dennett asserts, culturally-evolved tools were necessary for understanding the reasons for designs. However, there are many reasons to be skeptical of a monotonic increase in comprehension over time. Humans often faithfully imitate (without comprehension) more than chimpanzees do. Technological and institutional complexity, and specialization have generally increased over time, making accurate causal understandings more difficult for individuals. Furthermore, inaccurate causal models (e.g. nationalism, supernatural beliefs) may serve certain functions just as well as, or better than, accurate ones. A functionalist research program on the benefits of comprehending, design production awaits a fuller integration of human motivations into memetics.
