Preston Stovall, Richard Moore and Cathal O'Madagain
Affiliation: University of Hradec Kralove, University of Warwick, Université Mohamed VI Polytechnique
Category: Symposia
Keywords: norm cognition, accountability, cultural norms, shared perspectives
Date: Wednesday 3rd of September
Time: 17:00
Location: Maria Skłodowska-Curie Hall (123)
The members of human communities hold each another accountable for what they say and do. Speakers who make assertions are expected to say what they believe to be true; and to justify themselves if they fail to do so, or if their claims are queried. In the sciences, this accountabil-ity may come by way of explicit standards that must be met for an assertion to be made in a public space (like a journal or conference). Meanwhile, builders who build houses that collapse when doors slam are forced to build to a higher standard, or ultimately prevented from practic-ing. The familiarity of these practices illustrates the centrality of accountability to the norms at work in human communities. We expect each other to behave in certain ways, and may sanction those who fail to do so (Bicchieri 2005).
We can participate in social norms only because we are capable of norm cognition. But norm cognition needs to be explained. Is it uniquely human, or can social norms be found other spe-cies? Whether or not norm cognition is uniquely human, is it a feature of all human communi-ties, and if so in what ways? What distinguishes human norm cognition, in virtue of which we hold one another accountable, from other kinds of intentional and shared mental states concern-ing how we behave with what another? And what is the origin of norm cognition? Does it, for example, depend on features of cognition that have evolved specifically for this purpose (Mer-cier et al. 2010), or can norm cognition be explained only as a product of human cultural behav-iours (Heyes 2024)? Are the norms themselves transmitted culturally, and do they too evolve?
These questions are too big to be resolved in a single panel discussion, but questions about the evolution of normative cognition, its manifestation in human cognition more generally, and its relationship to our shared social lives, remain under-explored. Across three talks and a discus-sion session, we propose to start a more systematic discussion, by considering questions about the nature and origins of accountable speech; the culturale inheritance of norms and norm cog-nition; and the limits of accountability.
References Bicchieri, C. (2005). Grammar of Society. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sperber, D., Clément, F., Heintz, C., Mascaro, O., Mercier, H., Origgi, G., & Wilson, D. (2010). Epistemic vigilance. Mind & language, 25(4), 359-393.
Heyes, C. (2024). Rethinking norm psychology. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 19(1), 12-38.