Homology judgements of pre-evolutionary naturalists explained by general human shape matching abilities

Ulrich E Stegmann; Filipp Schmidt

doi:10.1038/s41598-023-39036-2

Homology judgements of pre-evolutionary naturalists explained by general human shape matching abilities

Ulrich E Stegmann, Filipp Schmidt

Philosophy

Justus Liebig University Giessen

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Many biological homologies were discovered before Darwin and without agreed criteria. Paradigmatic examples include the phylogenetic homology of mammalian forelimb bones and the serial homology of floral organs in waterlilies. It is generally assumed that perceiving similarities intuitively was the first step towards establishing morphological homologies. However, this assumption has never been tested. We hypothesize that pre-evolutionary naturalists relied on the well-established ability of humans to find visual correspondences between differently shaped objects. By using images of homologous organs and applying an experimental paradigm from cognitive psychology, we found that (1) naïve participants utilised this ability when identifying "corresponding" locations. In addition, (2) these locations were statistically indistinguishable from the locations that pre-evolutionary naturalists and contemporary experts considered homologous. Furthermore, (3) presenting naïve participants with images of intermediate organs influenced their correspondence judgements. This influence was in line with historical reports according to which intermediate organs facilitated the pre-evolutionary recognition of homologies.

Original language	English
Article number	12269
Number of pages	11
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	13
Issue number	1
Early online date	28 Jul 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-39036-2
Publication status	Published - 28 Jul 2023

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Jeff Shaw and Joe/flickR for providing photographs and reprint permissions, two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and suggestions, and the following contemporary experts on mammal and plant morphology: André Chanderbali, Lisa N. Cooper, Spencer Hellert, Bruce Kirchoff, P. David Polly, Rolf Rutishauser, Heidi Schutz, Douglas Soltis, Pamela Soltis, and Mi-Jeong Yoo. We also thank Regine Claßen-Bockhoff, Louis Ronse De Craene, and Alexander Vrijdaghs for helpful advice.

Funding
Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. The research was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)-project number 222641018-SFB/TRR 135 TP C1).

Keywords

Animals
Humans
Phylogeny
Judgment
Biological Evolution
Mammals

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Cite this

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abstract = "Many biological homologies were discovered before Darwin and without agreed criteria. Paradigmatic examples include the phylogenetic homology of mammalian forelimb bones and the serial homology of floral organs in waterlilies. It is generally assumed that perceiving similarities intuitively was the first step towards establishing morphological homologies. However, this assumption has never been tested. We hypothesize that pre-evolutionary naturalists relied on the well-established ability of humans to find visual correspondences between differently shaped objects. By using images of homologous organs and applying an experimental paradigm from cognitive psychology, we found that (1) na{\"i}ve participants utilised this ability when identifying {"}corresponding{"} locations. In addition, (2) these locations were statistically indistinguishable from the locations that pre-evolutionary naturalists and contemporary experts considered homologous. Furthermore, (3) presenting na{\"i}ve participants with images of intermediate organs influenced their correspondence judgements. This influence was in line with historical reports according to which intermediate organs facilitated the pre-evolutionary recognition of homologies.",

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N2 - Many biological homologies were discovered before Darwin and without agreed criteria. Paradigmatic examples include the phylogenetic homology of mammalian forelimb bones and the serial homology of floral organs in waterlilies. It is generally assumed that perceiving similarities intuitively was the first step towards establishing morphological homologies. However, this assumption has never been tested. We hypothesize that pre-evolutionary naturalists relied on the well-established ability of humans to find visual correspondences between differently shaped objects. By using images of homologous organs and applying an experimental paradigm from cognitive psychology, we found that (1) naïve participants utilised this ability when identifying "corresponding" locations. In addition, (2) these locations were statistically indistinguishable from the locations that pre-evolutionary naturalists and contemporary experts considered homologous. Furthermore, (3) presenting naïve participants with images of intermediate organs influenced their correspondence judgements. This influence was in line with historical reports according to which intermediate organs facilitated the pre-evolutionary recognition of homologies.

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Homology judgements of pre-evolutionary naturalists explained by general human shape matching abilities

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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