Stephen Jay Gould argued that the shape of animal life as we know it is a radically contingent accident of history determined more by fortune than comparative functional merit. Acknowledging the formative role of contingency in macroevolution is crucial, Gould believed, to vanquishing the lingering vestiges of progressivism that continue to buttress anthropocentric views of life. Gould’s contingency thesis has come under fire in recent years by proponents of convergent evolution who argue that not only is replication ubiquitous in evolution, but also that it indicates an evolutionary process charging inexorably toward ever more complex and human-like outcomes. We argue here that although convergentist approaches are widely seen as inimical to the Gouldian view of life, in fact the two are indispensable allies in the anti-progressivist crusade, particularly in relation to the evolution of mind. We illustrate this by examining the progressivist foundations of comparative cognition science and the ongoing resistance to attributions of convergent minds.

中文翻译：

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奇妙的心灵：趋同主义和反对进化进步的运动

斯蒂芬·杰伊·古尔德认为，我们所知道的动物生命形态是历史上完全偶然的偶然事件，更多地取决于命运而不是相对的功能优点。古尔德认为，承认偶然性在宏观进化中的形成作用对于消除继续支持人类中心主义生活观的挥之不去的进步主义残余至关重要。古尔德的偶然性理论近年来受到趋同进化支持者的抨击，他们认为不仅复制在进化中无处不在，而且它表明进化过程无情地朝着更复杂和更像人类的结果发展。我们在这里争辩说，虽然趋同主义的方法被广泛认为对古尔迪安的生活观有害，但实际上这两者是反进步主义运动中不可或缺的盟友，特别是与心智的进化有关。我们通过检查比较认知科学的进步主义基础和对趋同思维归因的持续抵制来说明这一点。