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Morgan's canon is not evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2018

Steven Samuel  and
Nicola Clayton
Steven Samuel
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, United Kingdom. ss2391@cam.ac.uknsc22@cam.ac.uk
Nicola Clayton
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, United Kingdom. ss2391@cam.ac.uknsc22@cam.ac.uk
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Abstract

Mahr & Csibra's (M&C's) account of the communicative function of episodic memory relies more heavily on the case against episodic memory in nonhumans than their description suggests. Although the communicative function of episodic memory may be accurate as it pertains to human behaviour, we question whether Morgan's canon is a suitable foundation on which to build theories of supposedly human-specific traits.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 41 , 2018 , e31
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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