Why do cognitive biases and fallacies still exist despite evolution?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Delving into why cognitive biases and fallacies persist despite evolution requires weighing each listed possibility against what we know about how evolution shapes cognition.
Option a: They are always harmful. In reality, many biases can be advantageous in certain contexts or environments, providing quick heuristics that save time and energy. Calling them always harmful ignores situations where a bias helps make fast, decent judgments, so this is an overgeneralization.
Option b: Evolution optimizes for perfect logic. Evolution does not produce perfect logical reasoning; it favors traits that increase reproductive fitness in typical environments. Perfect logic is not a direct target of natural selection, and humans often rely on heuristics that trade accuracy for speed, making this statement incorrect.
Option c: They developed only in modern times. The evidence from psychology and anthropology shows that many biases have deep roots and can be traced to ancient environments where humans faced different survival challenges. Therefore, saying they developed only recently ignores a long historical lineage.
Option d: They are caused by random mutations. While random mutations contribute to variation, biases are better understood as byproducts of adaptive heuristics shaped by natural selection, rather than simply random mutations with no function. This view misses the purposeful role of selection in bias formation, so it’s not accurate.
Option e: They were adaptive in ancient environments. This option aligns with the widely accepted view that many cognitive biases arose as ecological rationales—heuristics that worked well enough in ancestral environments, providing quick, frugal judgments that boosted survival and reproductive success. Although modern contexts can reveal limitations, the core idea that biases were historically advantageous is well supported.

CCST9086_1A_2025 Quiz4

Why do cognitive biases and fallacies still exist despite evolution?

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