Department of Communication Science, Università di Siena, Siena, 53100 Italy.
Behav Brain Sci. 2012 Aug;35(4):239-40. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X11002135. Epub 2012 Jun 15.
Vaesen argues that functional knowledge differentiates humans from non-human primates. However, the rationale he provides for this position is open to question--with respect to both the underlying theoretical assumptions and inferences drawn from certain empirical studies. Indeed, there is some recent empirical work that suggests that functional fixedness is not necessarily uniquely human. I also question the central role of stable function representations in Vaesen's account of tool production and use.
瓦森认为,功能知识将人类与非人类灵长类动物区分开来。然而,他为这一立场提供的理由值得质疑——无论是在基础理论假设方面,还是在某些经验研究中得出的推论方面。事实上,最近有一些经验研究表明,功能固定性不一定是人类所特有的。我也对瓦森关于工具生产和使用的解释中稳定功能表示的核心作用提出了质疑。