2026-04-06 ニューヨーク大学（NYU）
Photo credit: ExploringMekong.com/Getty Images
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2026/april/new-analysis-gives-geometry-an-evolutionary-shape.html
- https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/abstract/S1364-6613(26)00005-7
幾何学の認知的起源 The cognitive origins of geometry
Moira R. Dillon
Trends in Cognitive Sciences Published:April 6, 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2026.01.005
Highlights
Abstract geometry begins in mental navigation, not in symbols.
This mental navigation is approximately Euclidean and is shared by humans and nonhuman animals.
Humans uniquely, across cultures, may tap into mental navigation with natural language.
The interaction between mental navigation and natural language may support human capacities for Euclidean reasoning, concept acquisition, and formal learning.
There is no need to posit a specific language of thought for geometry.
Abstract
Geometry is often considered the paradigmatic model of abstract thought, with thinkers since at least Plato exploring its origins. A dominant hypothesis posits that a specialized, modular language of thought underlies our species’ unique geometric abilities. Challenging this view, I propose the Wanderers Hypothesis for Geometry, which suggests that human geometry is primarily rooted in navigation-like mental processes shared by humans and nonhuman animals and that these processes approximate Euclidean geometry. Drawing on infant experiments, cross-cultural experiments, and cognitive modeling, I argue that humans access these primitive processes through natural language, supporting their flexible application and our capacity for formal learning. This perspective broadens our understanding of geometric cognition and the nature of the human mind.
