In search of the uniquely human

As Bruner so eloquently points out, and Gauvain echoes, human beings are unique in their "locality." Individual groups of humans develop their own unique ways of symbolizing and doing things - and these can be very different from the ways of other groups, even those living quite nearby. Our attempt in the target article was to propose a theory of the social-cognitive and social-motivational bases of humans' ability and propensity to live in this local, that is, this cultural, way - which no other species does - focusing on such things as the ability to collaborate and to create shared material and symbolic artifacts. © 2005 Cambridge University Press.

Duke Scholars

Author Michael Tomasello Psychology & Neuroscience