Reasoning and Natural Selection

Adaptation Aspect of an organism that was created by the process of natural selection because it served an adaptive function Adaptive Contributing to the eventual reproduction of an organism or its relatives Bayes's theorem Specifies the probability that a hypothesis is true, given new data; P(HJD) = P(H)P(DIH)/P(D), where H is the hypothesis and D is the new data Cognitive psychology Study of how humans and other animals process information Natural selection Evolutionary process responsible for constructing, over successive generations, the complex functional organization found in organisms, through the recurring cycle of mutation and subsequent increased reproduction of the better design Normative theory Theory specifying a standard for how something ought to be done (as opposed to how it actually is done) Valid argument Argument that is logically derived from premises; a conclusion may be valid, yet false, if it is logically derived from false premises