Abstract
This chapter reviews what has been learned about animal thinking from the study of animal communication, and considers what we might hope to learn in the future. It begins with a discussion on the importance of informational versus non-informational interpretations of animal communication and then considers what inferences can be drawn about the cognitive requirements of communication from the communicative abilities of simple organisms. Next, it discusses the importance of context to the meaning of animal signals and the possibility of asymmetries in the neural processes underlying production versus reception. Current theories on the evolution of human language are reviewed and how the study of animal communication informs these theories.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Animal Thinking: Contemporary Issues in Comparative Cognition |
| Publisher | The MIT Press |
| Pages | 187-208 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780262016636 |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2011 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Arts and Humanities(all)
Cite this
Communication. / Wheeler, Brandon C.; Searcy, William; Christiansen, Morten H.; Corballis, Michael C.; Fischer, Julia; Grüter, Christoph; Margoliash, Daniel; Owren, Michael J.; Price, Tabitha; Seyfarth, Robert; Wild, Markus.
Animal Thinking: Contemporary Issues in Comparative Cognition. The MIT Press, 2011. p. 187-208.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
}
TY - CHAP
T1 - Communication
AU - Wheeler, Brandon C.
AU - Searcy, William
AU - Christiansen, Morten H.
AU - Corballis, Michael C.
AU - Fischer, Julia
AU - Grüter, Christoph
AU - Margoliash, Daniel
AU - Owren, Michael J.
AU - Price, Tabitha
AU - Seyfarth, Robert
AU - Wild, Markus
PY - 2011/12/1
Y1 - 2011/12/1
N2 - This chapter reviews what has been learned about animal thinking from the study of animal communication, and considers what we might hope to learn in the future. It begins with a discussion on the importance of informational versus non-informational interpretations of animal communication and then considers what inferences can be drawn about the cognitive requirements of communication from the communicative abilities of simple organisms. Next, it discusses the importance of context to the meaning of animal signals and the possibility of asymmetries in the neural processes underlying production versus reception. Current theories on the evolution of human language are reviewed and how the study of animal communication informs these theories.
AB - This chapter reviews what has been learned about animal thinking from the study of animal communication, and considers what we might hope to learn in the future. It begins with a discussion on the importance of informational versus non-informational interpretations of animal communication and then considers what inferences can be drawn about the cognitive requirements of communication from the communicative abilities of simple organisms. Next, it discusses the importance of context to the meaning of animal signals and the possibility of asymmetries in the neural processes underlying production versus reception. Current theories on the evolution of human language are reviewed and how the study of animal communication informs these theories.
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M3 - Chapter
AN - SCOPUS:82555198889
SN - 9780262016636
SP - 187
EP - 208
BT - Animal Thinking: Contemporary Issues in Comparative Cognition
PB - The MIT Press
ER -