Analogies for Sustainable Development/Concepts as species

Quote Bank
Rosenbaum (2014) :

“just as it would be surprising to discover an advanced species much too soon in evolution, it would be surprising to discover an advanced concept much too soon in learning.” 

''“Concepts build on each other. They’re learned in ways that make it impossible for more complex concepts to be formed before simpler ones are established.”''

''“A parallel exists, therefore, between the development of concepts and the development of species. Just as species can be placed in an evolutionary tree, so can concepts.”''

“In this sense, cognitive development, like species development, is evolutionary rather than revolutionary.”

“This feature of concept learning is decidedly Darwinian in the sense that, over the course of evolution, adaptations that prove useful in a very wide range of circumstances—for example, wherever gravity exists—tend to be preserved.”

Wilson (2012) :

''“Thinking of symbolic thought explicitly as an inheritance system will be especially useful. It is even useful to coin the word ‘‘symbotype’’ as an analog of ‘‘genotype”. ”''

“By analogy, a single ‘‘mutation’’ in a symbotype, such as the addition of a single powerful metaphor, can potentially have a transformative effect on one’s phenotype.”

Strike & Posner (1992, p.150)

''“The conditions of conceptual change not only assume that there is a conceptual ecology but also provide some clues as to its composition. We suggested that a conceptual ecology consists of such cognitive artifacts as anomalies, analogies, metaphors, epistemological beliefs, metaphysical beliefs, knowledge from other areas of inquiry, and knowledge of competing conceptions.“''