Abstract
<jats:p>This article examines the problem of terminological inconsistency that hinders effective collaboration between philosophy and evolutionary epistemology in the study of the nature and mechanisms of cognitive processes, owing to the mutually exclusive interpretation of the concept of “cognition” in these disciplines. Arguments are presented to demonstrate that higher mental functions in humans have a completely different content and mechanisms than the behavioral traits of the same name in animals. It is substantiated that the basic concepts of evolutionary epistemology, borrowed from the history of philosophical epistemology, are interpreted by evolutionary epistemologists eclectically, unsystematically, and ambiguously. Possible conventions regarding the concepts and ideas used in cognitive science and the possible limits of their applicability are proposed.</jats:p>