A cognitive explanation of the perceived normativity of cultural conventions

Mind and Language 36 (1):62-80 (2019)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

I argue that cultural conventions such as social etiquette facilitate a specific (non‐Lewisian) kind of action coordination—role–interaction coordination—that is required for division of labour. Playing one's roles and coordinating them with those of others is a form of multitasking. Such multitasking is made possible on a large scale because we can offload cognition aimed at coordination onto a stable infrastructure of cultural conventions. Our natural tendency to prefer multitasking in instances where one task requires low cognitive control can thus explain our preference for and expectation of familiar cultural conventions—that is, their perceived normativity.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 93,069

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Cultural Conventions as Group-Makers.Marc Slors - 2022 - Journal of Cognition and Culture 22 (3-4):203-219.
Groepsidentificatie en cognitie.Marc Slors - 2021 - Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte 113 (3):331-361.
Norms and conventions.Nicholas Southwood & Lina Eriksson - 2011 - Philosophical Explorations 14 (2):195 - 217.
Conventions and The Normativity of Law.Maximilian Kiener - 2018 - Archiv Fuer Rechts Und Sozialphilosphie 104 (2):220-231.
The normativity of Lewis Conventions.Francesco Guala - 2013 - Synthese 190 (15):3107-3122.
On convention.Andrei Marmor - 1996 - Synthese 107 (3):349 - 371.

Analytics

Added to PP
2019-11-07

Downloads
44 (#372,168)

6 months
10 (#308,654)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?