Of the many aspects distinguishing humans from other animals, language is probably the most fundamental; not only does it enable communication of ideas, opinions and emotions, it also provides us with many of the sophisticated cognitive faculties we associate with our superiority as a species. In examining the origins of language rather than attempting to determine how it functions, a more fundamental question arises of why language evolved. To investigate this question we must endeavour to find the original beneficial function of language that caused it to be naturally selected and further adapted. Conventionally, language was thought to have evolved as a faculty for exchanging information about the environment, such as planning hunts or giving instruction on how to fashion tools. This theory has since been refuted, largely by drawing on the lack of correlation between early human brain size (upon which language is contingent) and tool complexity (Wynn, 1988). Over the last decade, an alternate explanation for the advent of language has been proposed: its social function. Nonetheless, there remains much discussion as to precisely which of the many social functions was responsible for the evolution of language. I will here discuss: Dunbar’s (1993, 1996a) ‘linguistic grooming’ and ‘social gossip’ theory; Deacon’s (1997) ‘social contract’ theory; a criticism of the social function hypothesis regarding its presupposition of advanced cognition; and finally, an alternative approach based on Gould’s (1996) theory of non-adaptive spandrels.
Dunbar (1993, 1996a, 2002) maintains that language evolved as a more efficient binding mechanism for growing social groups. In justification of his theory, Dunbar (1993) demonstrates a close correl...
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Anyone with even a moderate background in science has heard of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Since the publishing of his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859, Darwin’s ideas have been debated by everyone from scientists to theologians to ordinary lay-people. Today, though there is still severe opposition, evolution is regarded as fact by most of the scientific community and Darwin’s book remains one of the most influential ever written.
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Language is commonly held to be the province of humans, but other inhabitants of earth possess their own forms of communication. Birds, dolphins, and whales are some of those that have a language. Primates also use vocal communication with each other. Their utterances have varied uses and volumes, with each primate’s voice being distinct just as human voices are. These unique calls have given researchers insight into the social workings of primate groups. The very fact that primates have a language offers insight into the evolution of language and calls into question what the term human truly means.
My younger brother used to ask questions all the time about how certain words were invented. “Who came up with the word sky? Why did they call it that?” were some of many questions I was asked when we were growing up. I always had to tell him that I had no idea or that it just happened. What Jonathan was questioning is a concept that linguists and anthropologists are still trying to answer today. The evolution of language is an incredibly difficult process to determine. Robbins Burling has written an entire book about, The Talking Ape, and still cannot definitively prove that the theories he presents are the exact way that language developed. However, Burling points out a plethora of evidence that points in such a direction. One piece of
Another major difference between primate and cetacean brains is that the primate brain favors the motor cortex, while "the cetaceans greatly favor the sensory region (and are not very balanced at all between the two)" (1). In the final measure of brain complexity, neural density ...
“Today in Dayton, they are selling more books on evolution than any other kind and the bookshops in Chattanooga and other cities of the state are hardly able to supply the demand for works on evolution. The trial has at least started people to thinking.” (Lienesch, 2007, p. 168)
Studies have proven that no human being is born with knowledge or skills; however, every individual’s has a learned behavior that is either influenced or genetic inherited. Therefore, every individual born into a social and cultural environment are more likely to be effected by, family members, other social groups, religion, as well as languages. Most research psychologists study the genetic inheritance of an individual’s behavior while others focus on an individual’s development stage. However, during the process of psychological research, psychologists also focus on examining the influence that a community can have on one social behavior.
To begin with, Pinker proposes the four traits that would facilitates the process of human intelligence throughout the human evolution history, which are the stereotypical vision, group living, hunting, and the dexterity of hands. He dedicates his time explaining how each of these four traits not only show that our cognitive niche and lifestyle have changed and advanced together, but also assist human to climb up to the ladder throughout the process of natural selection. However, he then states, “no one knows whether there are other, untried gradients to intelligence in biological design space (Pinker 197).” Pinker adjusts his statement by arguing that “the first human evolution was not a cascade of changes set off by a few key inventions” and convincing the readers that cognitive revolution is required to take place, which extends the human
On the ‘nature’ side of the debate is the psychometric approach, considered to be the most dominant in the study of intelligence, which “inspired the most research and attracted the most attention” (Neisser et al. 1996, p. 77). It argues that there is one general (‘g’) factor which accounts for intelligence. In the 1880s, Francis Galton conducted many tests (measuring reaction times to cognitive tasks), (Boundless 2013), in order to scientifically measure intelligence. These tests were linked to the eugenic breeding programme, which aimed to eliminate biologically inferior people from society. Galton believed that as intelligence was inherited, social class or position were significant indicators of intelligence. If an individual was of high social standing, they would be more intelligent than those of a lower position. However he failed to show any consistency across the tests for this hypothesis, weakening his theory that social class correlated with intelligence. Nevertheless, his creation of the intelligence test led many to continue to develop...
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