When Worlds Collide - Or Do They? Implications of Explanatory Coexistence for Conceptual Development and Change

摘要

In season 7, episode 8 of the popular US television series Seinfeld, the character George Costanza is distressed to learn that his fiancee wants to socialize with his friends from his bachelor days. George has a theory that he inhabits two distinct 'worlds': the world of his friends ('independent George') and the world of his fiancee ('relationship George'). Each world operates smoothly on its own, but together they are dangerously incompatible. If the two worlds interact, the results will be disastrous. In George's words, 'Anybody knows, ya gotta keep your worlds apart.' George's concern about worlds colliding provides a metaphor for thinking about the belief systems of science (on the one hand) and religion, magic, or supernatural entities (on the other hand). To what extent do these different ways of construing reality represent distinct realms that are best kept apart, like the two worlds of George Costanza? And what happens if they make contact? Can they peacefully coexist, or will one overwhelm and destroy the other? The fascinating and important papers in this volume by Harris [this issue], Legare and Visala [this issue], Subbotsky [this issue], and Evans and Lane [this issue] speak about these issues. In my comments, I will review some of their major contributions, and then focus on the implications for cognition more broadly.