Function, Selection, and Innateness

Function, Selection, and Innateness PDF Author: Simon Kirby
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191583529
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
This book explores issues at the core of modern linguistics and cognitive science. Why are all languages similar in some ways and in others utterly different? Why do languages change and change variably? How did the human capacity for language evolve, and how far did it do so as an innate ability? Simon Kirby looks at these questions from a broad perspective, arguing that they can (indeed must) be studied together. The author begins by examining how far the universal properties of language may be explained by examining the way it is used, and how far by the way it is structured. He then considers what insights may be gained by combining functional and formal approaches. In doing so he develops a way of treating language as an adaptive system, in which its communicative and formal roles are both crucial and complementary. In order to test the effectiveness of competing theories and explanations, Simon Kirby develops computational models to show what universals emerge given a particular theory of language use or acquisition. He presents here both the methodology and the results. Function, Selection, and Innateness is important for its argument, its methodology, and its conclusions. It is a powerful demonstration of the value of looking at language as an adaptive system and goes to the heart of current debates on the evolution and nature of language.

Function, Selection, and Innateness

Function, Selection, and Innateness PDF Author: Simon Kirby
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191583529
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 178

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book explores issues at the core of modern linguistics and cognitive science. Why are all languages similar in some ways and in others utterly different? Why do languages change and change variably? How did the human capacity for language evolve, and how far did it do so as an innate ability? Simon Kirby looks at these questions from a broad perspective, arguing that they can (indeed must) be studied together. The author begins by examining how far the universal properties of language may be explained by examining the way it is used, and how far by the way it is structured. He then considers what insights may be gained by combining functional and formal approaches. In doing so he develops a way of treating language as an adaptive system, in which its communicative and formal roles are both crucial and complementary. In order to test the effectiveness of competing theories and explanations, Simon Kirby develops computational models to show what universals emerge given a particular theory of language use or acquisition. He presents here both the methodology and the results. Function, Selection, and Innateness is important for its argument, its methodology, and its conclusions. It is a powerful demonstration of the value of looking at language as an adaptive system and goes to the heart of current debates on the evolution and nature of language.

Function, Selection and Innateness

Function, Selection and Innateness PDF Author: Simon Kirby
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Grammar, Comparative and general
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


The Innate Mind

The Innate Mind PDF Author: Peter Carruthers
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198042361
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
This is the second volume of a projected three-volume set on the subject of innateness. The volume is highly interdisciplinary, and addresses such question as: To what extent are mature cognitive capacities a reflection of particular cultures and to what extent are they a product of innate elements? How do innate elements interact with culture to achieve mature cognitive capacities? How do minds generate and shape cultures? How are cultures processed by minds? The volume will be of great importance to anyone interested in the interplay between culture and the innate mind.

Biological Foundations and Origin of Syntax

Biological Foundations and Origin of Syntax PDF Author: Derek Bickerton
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262549123
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 491

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Book Description
Interdisciplinary perspectives on the evolutionary and biological roots of syntax, describing current research on syntax in fields ranging from linguistics to neurology. Syntax is arguably the most human-specific aspect of language. Despite the proto-linguistic capacities of some animals, syntax appears to be the last major evolutionary transition in humans that has some genetic basis. Yet what are the elements to a scenario that can explain such a transition? In this book, experts from linguistics, neurology and neurobiology, cognitive psychology, ecology and evolutionary biology, and computer modeling address this question. Unlike most previous work on the evolution of language, Biological Foundations and Origin of Syntax follows through on a growing consensus among researchers that language can be profitably separated into a number of related and interacting but largely autonomous functions, each of which may have a distinguishable evolutionary history and neurological base. The contributors argue that syntax is such a function.The book describes the current state of research on syntax in different fields, with special emphasis on areas in which the findings of particular disciplines might shed light on problems faced by other disciplines. It defines areas where consensus has been established with regard to the nature, infrastructure, and evolution of the syntax of natural languages; summarizes and evaluates contrasting approaches in areas that remain controversial; and suggests lines for future research to resolve at least some of these disputed issues. Contributors Andrea Baronchelli, Derek Bickerton, Dorothy V. M. Bishop, Denis Bouchard, Robert Boyd, Jens Brauer, Ted Briscoe, David Caplan, Nick Chater, Morten H. Christiansen, Terrence W.Deacon, Francesco d'Errico, Anna Fedor, Julia Fischer, Angela D. Friederici, Tom Givón, Thomas Griffiths, Balázs Gulyás, Peter Hagoort, Austin Hilliard, James R. Hurford, Péter Ittzés, Gerhard Jäger, Herbert Jäger, Edith Kaan, Simon Kirby, Natalia L. Komarova, Tatjana Nazir, Frederick Newmeyer, Kazuo Okanoya, Csaba Plèh, Peter J. Richerson, Luigi Rizzi, Wolf Singer, Mark Steedman, Luc Steels, Szabolcs Számadó, Eörs Szathmáry, Maggie Tallerman, Jochen Triesch, Stephanie Ann White

Transcriptional and Chromatin Regulation in Adaptive and Innate Immune Cells

Transcriptional and Chromatin Regulation in Adaptive and Innate Immune Cells PDF Author: Keiko Ozato
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889637239
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Book Description
Transcription depends on an ordered sequence of events, starting with (i) setting of the enhancer and chromatin environment, (ii) assembly of DNA binding and general transcription factors, (iii) initiation, elongation, processing of mRNA and termination, followed by (iv) creation of epigenetic marks and memory formation. Highlighting the importance of these activities, more than 10% total genes are dedicated to regulating transcriptional mechanisms. This area of research is highly active and new insights are continuously being added to our knowledge. Cells of the immune system have unique features of gene regulation to support diverse tasks required for innate and adaptive immunity. Innate immunity involves the recognition of external infectious and noxious agents as well as internal cancer cell components, and the elimination of these agents by non-specific mechanisms. Adaptive immunity involves gene rearrangement to achieve highly specific T and B cell responses, imparting the capability of self and non-self discrimination. This requires transcription and epigenetic regulation. Adaptive immunity also employs epigenetic memory, enabling recapitulation of prior transcription. Recent advances in nuclear architecture, chromatin structure, and transcriptional regulation have provided new insights into immune responses. The increased understanding of these molecular mechanisms is now affording opportunities to improve therapeutic strategies for various diseases.

Basic Immunology: Functions and Disorders of the Immune System, 6e: SAE-E-book

Basic Immunology: Functions and Disorders of the Immune System, 6e: SAE-E-book PDF Author: Abul K. Abbas
Publisher: Elsevier Health Sciences
ISBN: 8131259587
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Basic Immunology: Functions and Disorders of the Immune System, 6e: SAE-E-book

Multilevel Organization and Functional Integration in Organisms

Multilevel Organization and Functional Integration in Organisms PDF Author: Etienne Roux
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889665747
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description


Regulation of Mitochondrial Function on Animal Diseases

Regulation of Mitochondrial Function on Animal Diseases PDF Author: Hui Zhang
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889765458
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 137

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Book Description


New Insights into Thymic Functions during Stress, Aging, and in Disease Settings

New Insights into Thymic Functions during Stress, Aging, and in Disease Settings PDF Author: Nicolai Stanislas van Oers
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889662683
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact.

The Innate Mind

The Innate Mind PDF Author: Peter Carruthers
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190292628
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
This is the first volume of a projected three-volume set on the subject of innateness. The extent to which the mind is innate is one of the central questions in the human sciences, with important implications for many surrounding debates. By bringing together the top nativist scholars in philosophy, psychology, and allied disciplines these volumes provide a comprehensive assessment of nativist thought and a definitive reference point for future nativist inquiry. The Innate Mind: Structure and Content, concerns the fundamental architecture of the mind, addressing such question as: What capacities, processes, representations, biases, and connections are innate? How do these innate elements feed into a story about the development of our mature cognitive capacities, and which of them are shared with other members of the animal kingdom? The editors have provided an introduction giving some of the background to debates about innateness and introducing each of the subsequent essays, as well as a consolidated bibliography that will be a valuable reference resource for all those interested in this area. The volume will be of great importance to all researchers and students interested in the fundamental nature and powers of the human mind. Together, the three volumes in the series will provide the most intensive and richly cross-disciplinary investigation of nativism ever undertaken. They point the way toward a synthesis of nativist work that promises to provide a new understanding of our minds and their place in the natural order.