{"title":"A commitment account of norm externalisation.","authors":"Saira Khan","doi":"10.1007/s10539-025-09990-4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>One of the distinctive features of some norms is thought to be their <i>externalised</i> character. To say that a norm is externalised is to say that it is experienced as imposed on us from the outside and exacting a demand on all, regardless of their group (Stanford in Behav Brain Sci 14:1-13, 2018a). Stanford (Behav Brain Sci 14:1-13, 2018a) argues that externalisation evolved to facilitate correlated interaction among cooperators. However, he failed to specify the means by which externalisation achieves correlated interaction. In this article, I argue that externalisation secures correlated interaction via commitment. I also offer an account of the emergence of externalised norms that further draws attention to the role of commitments in securing correlated interaction over our evolutionary history.</p>","PeriodicalId":55368,"journal":{"name":"Biology & Philosophy","volume":"40 4","pages":"18"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12354623/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Biology & Philosophy","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-025-09990-4","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/8/14 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
One of the distinctive features of some norms is thought to be their externalised character. To say that a norm is externalised is to say that it is experienced as imposed on us from the outside and exacting a demand on all, regardless of their group (Stanford in Behav Brain Sci 14:1-13, 2018a). Stanford (Behav Brain Sci 14:1-13, 2018a) argues that externalisation evolved to facilitate correlated interaction among cooperators. However, he failed to specify the means by which externalisation achieves correlated interaction. In this article, I argue that externalisation secures correlated interaction via commitment. I also offer an account of the emergence of externalised norms that further draws attention to the role of commitments in securing correlated interaction over our evolutionary history.
期刊介绍:
Recent decades have witnessed fascinating and controversial advances in the biological sciences. This journal answers the need for meta-theoretical analysis, both about the very nature of biology, as well as about its social implications.
Biology and Philosophy is aimed at a broad readership, drawn from both the sciences and the humanities. The journal subscribes to no specific school of biology, nor of philosophy, and publishes work from authors of all persuasions and all disciplines. The editorial board reflects this attitude in its composition and its world-wide membership.
Each issue of Biology and Philosophy carries one or more discussions or comparative reviews, permitting the in-depth study of important works and topics.