%0 Book Section %A Menary, Richard %D 2015 %T Mathematical Cognition: A Case of Enculturation %E Metzinger, Thomas K. %E Windt, Jennifer M. %B Open MIND %C Frankfurt am Main %I MIND Group %& 25(T) %! Mathematical Cognition: A Case of Enculturation %@ 9783958570818 %R 10.15502/9783958570818 %X Most thinking about cognition proceeds on the assumption that we are born with our primary cognitive faculties intact and they simply need to mature, or be fine-tuned by learning mechanisms. Alternatively, a growing number of thinkers are aligning themselves to the view that a process of enculturation transforms our basic biological faculties. What evidence is there for this process of enculturation? A long period of development, learning-driven plasticity, and a cultural environment suffused with practices, symbols, and complex social interactions all speak in its favour. In this paper I will sketch in outline the commitments of the enculturated approach and then look at the case of mathematical cognition as a central example of enculturation. I will then defend the account against several objections. %K 4e cognition, Ancient number system, Arithmetical cognition, Cognitive integration, Cultural inheritance, Discrete number system, Enculturation, Evolution of cognition, Evolutionary continuity, Mathematical cognition, Niche construction, Symbol systems, Symbolic thought %U https://open-mind.net/papers/mathematical-cognition-a-case-of-enculturation %G English