For instance, originally all cognition appears to have been a means in the struggle for existence. Exact knowledge of the behavior of things is, in fact, of extraordinary utility for the maintenance and promotion of life. Yet cognition is no longer used in the service of this practical achievement: science has become a value in itself.

XREF: Connects to evolutionary psychology debates about whether cognition/curiosity is adaptive or runs beyond survival utility, echoing themes in Gould's spandrels and evolutionary mismatch literature.

Georg Simmel, The Sociology of Georg Simm…, loc. 2033