Sharon M. Guten Colloquium Series: Jessica Cantlon, Carnegie Mellon University

Title: What makes human logic unique?

Abstract: The focus of this talk is on the origins of human logic and mathematical intelligence. Primates have been using quantitative logic for millions of years but humans stand apart from other primates in the types, modes, and complexity of computational thoughts they engage. Of course humans are unique in how they use mathematical logic to build a computer or fly to the moon but humans’ unique abilities begin to emerge early in development, even in simple math and logical processes, around the time they’re 3 years old. The question we explore in this talk is: Which cognitive and neural processes do we humans have in common with other primates, and which processes set humans on a unique cognitive path when they’re just toddlers? Also, why? In this talk, I discuss how evolution shapes human numerical concepts through constraints on human perception and cognition, neural homologies among human and non-human primates, and interactions between uniquely human cognitive capacities and more primitive cognition.