We-Intentionality: An Essential Element in Understanding Human Culture?

Abstract: Culture is a powerful cause of human behavior, yet there have been few attempts to synthesize the biological and social sciences in order to provide an explanation of culture and hence to lay the foundations for a comprehensive human science. This essay explores one possible way of doing this by outlining the likely psychological mechanisms that give rise to the unique human capacity for creating social reality. The core assumption is that "we-intentionality," which is key to understanding social constructions, can and must be linked to specific evolved psychological traits, and hence placed within a neuroscience perspective.