Computational Phenotypes

Towards an Evolutionary Developmental Biolinguistics
Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-0-19-966547-1
Verlag: OUP Oxford

Buch, Englisch, 256 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 392 g

Reihe: Oxford Studies in Biolinguistics

This book confronts the hotly debated claim that language is a species specific trait of humans. It also considers the notion that disentangling the evolutionary history of language is one of science's hardest problems. Building on the recent conceptual breakthroughs of the EvoDevo paradigm, Balari and Lorenzo argue that language is not so exceptional after all. It is, rather, just the human version of a fairly common and conservative organic system which they call the Central Computational Complex. The authors also propose that interspecies variation of this organ is restricted to (i) accessible memory resources, and (ii) patterns of external connectivity, both being the result of perturbations on the system underlying its development. The book, written accessibly for both biologists and linguists, offers a fresh perspective on language as a naturally evolved phenomenon.

Zielgruppe

Linguists and biologists from advanced undergraduate level upwards, as well as cognitive scientists and philosophers.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Balari, Sergio

Lorenzo, Guillermo

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Physik Angewandte Physik Biophysik
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Angewandte Biologie Bioinformatik
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sprachphilosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Sprachwissenschaften Sprachphilosophie
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Angewandte Biologie Biophysik
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Angewandte Biologie Biomathematik
• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Angewandte Informatik Bioinformatik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1: The Pains of Being Owenians/Chomskyans/Cartesians at heart
2: My Beloved Monster
3: The Dead End of Communication
4: On True Homologues
5: Computational Homology
6: Introducing Computational Evo Devo
7: Other Minds
8: Conclusions
Appendix
References
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Sergio Balari is a Professor of Linguistics at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Guillermo Lorenzo is Professor of Linguistics at Universidad de Oviedo. They are members of an interuniversity team currently working on the developmental basis and evolutionary origins of language, with funds provided by the Spanish Government and FEDER. Sergio Balari is also a member of the Centre de Lingüística Teòrica (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona). They have coauthored several articles in leading journals such as Biolinguistics, Biological Theory and International Journal of Evolutionary Biology.