The Evolution of Communication
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.20 (896 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0262082500 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 760 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 0000-00-00 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
The current wave of research activity on the evolution of cognition is rooted, both historically and intellectually, in the question of how human language evolved. It covers a diverse group of organisms, including insects, frogs, birds, bats, monkeys and humans, dissecting the unique design features of each species' communication system. But scientific progress on this question has been stalled in a debate about whether the question can even be broached. Breaking this deadlock, "The Evolution of Communication" addresses the problems of how communication systems, including language, have been designed over the course of evolution. "The Evolution of Communication" looks at species in their natural environments as a way to begin to understand what the real units of analysis of communicating systems are, using arguments about design and function to illuminate both the origin and subsequent evolution of each system. The empirical work is restricted to natural communicating systems that use auditory, visual or audiovisual signals.. The book is broadly integrative, synthesizing conceptual issues and empirical results from neurobiology, cognitive and developmental psychology, linguistics, evolutionary biology, ethology, and anthropology. Hauser places comparative communication into the structure of Tinbergen's four causal questions (with some modification) in an examination of communication and neurobiological design, ontogenetic desi
. Marc D. Hauser is Professor of Psychology and Codirector of the Mind, Brain, and Behavior Program at Harvard University
Hauser brings to the task a formidable knowledge of the field(his bibliography contains some 1,500 items) plus a lucid style and aninfectious enthusiasm that carry one smoothly through an immense mazeof information and make complex biological theories accessible even tothe uninitiated. "Few writers have so far even attempted a general overview ofanimal communication, so Marc Hauser's book is timely if notoverdue. For anyone concerned with the comparative study ofcommunication, this book is likely to
"Scholarly text" according to D. Diderot. Marc Hauser displays his intellectual virtuosity in this dense albeit critical thinking about human pressures for selection as gene to environment goodness of fit. This textbook, composted for advanced readers, the text reads smoothly and filled with valuable insight.. EOC -- Brings Animal Cognition to the forefront. Sean Bennett The Evolution of Communication gives a distintive opinion of evolutionary psychology, animal cognition, and cognitive neuroscience. Easy to read and understand, many of the hypotheses and comments of Marc Hauser are now being applied to larger academic issues, such as the "concept acquisition" problem in philosophy. The strengths of this book lie in its overarching predictions, and the supplemental and thorough examples.