The Quest for Symbolic Communication in Non-Human Animals

The Quest for Symbolic Communication in Non-Human Animals PDF Author: Ulrike Griebel
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2832550339
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
Human language is unique among animals. We assume that complex cognitive capacities in general and language in particular evolved gradually and thus are manifest in different kinds and/or degrees in other animals demonstrating social communication. This assumption is supported by the fact that we can train social species from very different groups of animals (e.g. great apes, dolphins, dogs, parrots) to understand and in several cases even use abstract symbols for communication with humans and conspecifics. Even simple grammatical rules for sequences of 2-3 symbols can be trained to be understood by several species (e.g. great apes, dogs, dolphins). Even though human language training in these species takes considerable time and effort, it convinces us that cognitive foundations for language are present in other species, and, given the relevant selection pressures, symbolic communication could evolve in other species.

The Quest for Symbolic Communication in Non-Human Animals

The Quest for Symbolic Communication in Non-Human Animals PDF Author: Ulrike Griebel
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2832550339
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
Human language is unique among animals. We assume that complex cognitive capacities in general and language in particular evolved gradually and thus are manifest in different kinds and/or degrees in other animals demonstrating social communication. This assumption is supported by the fact that we can train social species from very different groups of animals (e.g. great apes, dolphins, dogs, parrots) to understand and in several cases even use abstract symbols for communication with humans and conspecifics. Even simple grammatical rules for sequences of 2-3 symbols can be trained to be understood by several species (e.g. great apes, dogs, dolphins). Even though human language training in these species takes considerable time and effort, it convinces us that cognitive foundations for language are present in other species, and, given the relevant selection pressures, symbolic communication could evolve in other species.

The Symbolic Species: The Co-evolution of Language and the Brain

The Symbolic Species: The Co-evolution of Language and the Brain PDF Author: Terrence W. Deacon
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393343022
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 532

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Book Description
"A work of enormous breadth, likely to pleasantly surprise both general readers and experts."—New York Times Book Review This revolutionary book provides fresh answers to long-standing questions of human origins and consciousness. Drawing on his breakthrough research in comparative neuroscience, Terrence Deacon offers a wealth of insights into the significance of symbolic thinking: from the co-evolutionary exchange between language and brains over two million years of hominid evolution to the ethical repercussions that followed man's newfound access to other people's thoughts and emotions. Informing these insights is a new understanding of how Darwinian processes underlie the brain's development and function as well as its evolution. In contrast to much contemporary neuroscience that treats the brain as no more or less than a computer, Deacon provides a new clarity of vision into the mechanism of mind. It injects a renewed sense of adventure into the experience of being human.

The Human Mind

The Human Mind PDF Author: Eric J. Kolb Ph.D.
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1665598069
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
In, The Human Mind: A Psychological View of Theological concepts, I compare and contrast the scientific understanding of the human mind with the teaching of the Bible. In some cases, these two perspectives are very similar, such as in various aspects of child development. However, where positive psychology claims that the power to induce change lies within the individual, the Bible teaches that we can do nothing apart from Christ. The book begins with the concept of belief, upon which the mind develops. Both Christian Theology and scientific psychology agree that one's beliefs serve as a lens through which reality is perceived; and that humans essentially choose what they want to believe. As such, an individuals' core beliefs serve as the foundation upon which their mind develops. This book then outlines the various developmental processes of the human mind. Beginning with what is commonly referred to as the blank slate, through sensory integration and learning, humans first develop a concept of self-awareness and then a theory of mind upon which an individual's identity is anchored. These developmental processes are discussed and form the framework of our understanding of consciousness. Finally, after establishing the relationship between mind and behavior, this book closes with the contemplation of the nature and development of the mind of Jesus of Nazareth.

Human-Horse Relations and the Ethics of Knowing

Human-Horse Relations and the Ethics of Knowing PDF Author: Rosalie Jones McVey
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000853624
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
This book explores how equestrians are highly invested in the idea of profound connection between horse and human and focuses on the ethical problem of knowing horses. In describing how ‘true’ connection with horses matters, Rosalie Jones McVey investigates what sort of thing comes to count as a ‘good relationship’ and how riders work to get there. Drawing on fieldwork in the British horse world, she illuminates the ways in which equestrian culture instils the idea that horse people should know their horses better. Using horsemanship as one exemplary instance where ‘truth’ holds ethical traction, the book demonstrates the importance of epistemology in late modern ethical life. It also raises the question of whether, and how, the concept of truth should matter to multispecies ethnographers in their ethnographic representations of animals.

The Imaginary of Animals

The Imaginary of Animals PDF Author: Annabelle Dufourcq
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000414299
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
This book explores the phenomenon of animal imagination and its profound power over the human imagination. It examines the structural and ethical role that the human imagination must play to provide an interface between humans’ subjectivity and the real cognitive capacities of animals. The book offers a systematic study of the increasing importance of the metaphors, the virtual, and figures in contemporary animal studies. It explores human-animal and real-imaginary dichotomies, revealing them to be the source of oppressive cultural structures. Through an analysis of creative, playful and theatric enactments and mimicry of animal behaviors and communication, the book establishes that human imagination is based on animal imagination. This helps redefine our traditional knowledge about animals and presents new practices and ethical concerns in regard to the animals. The book strongly contends that allowing imagination to play a role in our relation to animals will lead to the development of a more empathetic approach towards them. Drawing on works in phenomenology, contemporary animal philosophy, as well as ethological evidence and biosemiotics, this book is the first to rethink the traditional philosophical concepts of imagination, images, the imaginary, and reality in the light of a zoocentric perspective. It will appeal to philosophers, scholars and students in the field of animal studies, as well as anyone interested in human and non-human imaginations.

Perspectives on Human-animal Communication

Perspectives on Human-animal Communication PDF Author: Emily Plec
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415640059
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
This book represents early and prominent forays into the subject of human-animal communication from a Communication Studies perspectives, an effort that brings a discipline too long defined by that fallacy of division, human or nonhuman, into conversation with animal studies, biosemiotics, and environmental communication, as well as other recent intellectual and activist movements for reconceptualizing relationships and interactions in the biosphere.

On Inequality and Freedom

On Inequality and Freedom PDF Author: Lawrence M. Eppard
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197583024
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
Conversations about liberty in the U.S. often focus on freedom from - such as freedom from government. This focus can sometimes come at the expense of the freedom to - such as the freedom for all Americans to live the lives they imagine for themselves, and the conditions that might be necessary for this to be realized. In On Inequality and Freedom, a divesre groupd of authors explore how Americans might benefit from this expanded notion of what freedom truly entails.

Through the Lens of Anthropology

Through the Lens of Anthropology PDF Author: Robert J. Muckle
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1442608668
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
Through the Lens of Anthropology is a concise but comprehensive introductory textbook that uses the twin themes of food and sustainability to illustrate the connected nature of anthropology's four major subfields: archaeology, and biological, cultural, and linguistic anthropology. By viewing the world through the lens of anthropology, students will learn not only about anthropological methods, theories, and ethics, but also the ways in which anthropology is relevant to their everyday lives and embedded in the culture that surrounds them. Beautifully illustrated throughout, with over 150 full-color images, figures, feature boxes, and maps, this is an anthropology text with a fresh perspective, a lively narrative, and plenty of popular topics that are sure to engage readers. A strong pedagogical framework structures the book: each chapter features learning objectives, glossary terms, and chapter summaries, as well as review and discussion questions which guide students' analysis of the topics, themes, and issues raised in the text. This book is interesting to read, manageable to teach, and succeeds at igniting interest in anthropology as a discipline.

Oxford Handbook of Human Symbolic Evolution

Oxford Handbook of Human Symbolic Evolution PDF Author: Nathalie Gontier
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192543512
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 1185

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Book Description
The biological and neurological capacity to symbolize, and the products of behavioral, cognitive, sociocultural, linguistic, and technological uses of symbols (symbolism), are fundamental to every aspect of human life. The Oxford Handbook of Human Symbolic Evolution explores the origins of our characteristically human abilities - our ability to speak, create images, play music, and read and write. The book investigates how symbolization evolved in human evolution and how symbolism is expressed across the various areas of human life. The field is intrinsically interdisciplinary - considering findings from fossil studies, scientific research from primatology, developmental psychology, and of course linguistics. Written by world leading experts, thirty-eight topical chapters are grouped into six thematic parts that respectively focus on epistemological, psychological, anthropological, ethological, linguistic, and social-technological aspects of human symbolic evolution. The handbook presents an in-depth but comprehensive and interdisciplinary overview of the of the state of the art in the science of human symbolic evolution. This work will be of interest to academics and students active in all fields contributing to the study of human evolution.

Artificial Minds

Artificial Minds PDF Author: Stan Franklin
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262561099
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
Stan Franklin is the perfect tour guide through the contemporary interdisciplinary matrix of artificial intelligence, cognitive science, cognitive neuroscience, artificial neural networks, artificial life, and robotics that is producing a new paradigm of mind. Along the way, Franklin makes the case for a perspective that rejects a rigid distinction between mind and non-mind in favor of a continuum from less to more mind.