Niches of the Mind;The Brain and Language :: Intellect Evolution Essays

Niches of the MindThe Brain and LanguageAs the story goes, creation is characterized by expansion and contraction, disorder and order, random change and selection. It is observed in evolution how random change and disorder thrust brought about, from the chuck out floating in a puddle on earlier earth, the furious diversity and incomprehensible complexity of life. The counterpart to this is death, making space for the upstart and guiding changes in the old through selection. What can this story sort us about the evolution of tender-hearteds, and our most distinguishing trait our top executive to discover stories?The humane intellect is widely understood to be that which distinguishes us from some(a) some other animals. Mayr tells us that the rapid wag expansion that took place in Australopithecines and early Homo is correlated with two factors a change in hominids niche, travel from the trees to bush savanna, and the development of speech. (p 252) This essay attempts t o summarize some current explanations of the relationships in the midst of language and the brain in human evolution, and relate them to another distinctive of humans correlated with the human intellect- our social complexity.Symbolic communication is by no means limited to humans, or, for that matter, to the most complex organisms. Most fairly social animals have a range of about fifteen to thirty-five physical displays or calls. As far as we know, cuttlefish, related to squids, have about the same size repertoire size as non-human order Primates do. (class notes Ling. 101) The evolution of animal communication is thought to have occurred through ritualization of previously existing behavior (class notes Ling. 101) In most animals, communicative displays are innate, that is, genetically determined. This is not at all the case in humans human language is learned. Yet a few of the main things that distinguish human language from other animal communication, namely grammar and syn tax, are argued by some linguists to be instinctive. (Pinker)In addition to the lack of syntax, grammar, and a large lexicon, other animals, including higher-order primates, lack a highly developed theory of mind the ability to conceptualize others knowledge, beliefs, intentions and goals (class notes Ling. 101) For a long time the increase in brain size was seen as being correlated with the increasing complexity of motherfucker technology in Australopithecines and early Homo. This theory is loosing popularity due to the observance of general tool use in other primates, and is giving way to theories in which the main thrust is rising social complexity.