08:32:36 pm 11/09/2023
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Unlocking the Origins of Human Language: How Tool-Making Sparked Our Ability to Communicate
Oren Kolodny, a renowned biologist at Stanford University, has made a groundbreaking contribution to our understanding of language's origins with his innovative research.
Oren Kolodny's research suggests that human language evolved from brain processes that were originally used for other tasks, like planning and performing actions. He thinks early humans needed complex skills for making and using tools, and this led to the development of language. Basically, the brain areas used for detailed actions got linked with those used for communication. This wasn't a quick change but happened over a long time, involving many small genetic changes. The idea is like using parts from a bike to build a scooter – the original parts weren't made for a scooter, but they were adapted to create something new.
Oren Kolodny's hypothesis, as detailed in his paper in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, proposes a unique perspective on the evolution of human language. The core of his hypothesis is that the development of language in humans was a result of "cognitive hijacking," where existing cognitive mechanisms related to sequential processing and motor execution were repurposed or exapted for language (Kolodny & Edelman, 2018, as cited in The Kolodny Lab - Publications and PubMed).
This hypothesis brings together insights from various fields including cognitive psychology, neuroscience, archaeology, and behavioral ecology. It suggests that the coupling of communication systems with those related to complex action planning and control was crucial in this evolutionary process. However, the specific prehistoric ecological contexts in which this development occurred and its adaptive value are still not fully understood.
Kolodny's proposition is that this coupling of communication and motor systems required a multi-stepped adaptive process, involving multiple genes and gene networks. He suggests that the selective pressure for these adaptations likely arose in a context where both the communication and motor systems were independently necessary or highly beneficial, and frequently used over evolutionary time. A potential context for this could have been the teaching and learning of tool production or tool use (Kolodny & Edelman, 2018, as cited in The Kolodny Lab - Publications and PubMed).
In summary, Kolodny's "cognitive hijacking" hypothesis posits that language evolved as a result of repurposing pre-existing cognitive mechanisms, likely driven by the needs of early humans in activities such as tool-making and tool-using, leading to the unique development of language in the human species.
You can read the entire paper at:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5812965/
Oren Kolodny's research suggests that human language evolved from brain processes that were originally used for other tasks, like planning and performing actions. He thinks early humans needed complex skills for making and using tools, and this led to the development of language. Basically, the brain areas used for detailed actions got linked with those used for communication. This wasn't a quick change but happened over a long time, involving many small genetic changes. The idea is like using parts from a bike to build a scooter – the original parts weren't made for a scooter, but they were adapted to create something new.
Oren Kolodny's hypothesis, as detailed in his paper in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, proposes a unique perspective on the evolution of human language. The core of his hypothesis is that the development of language in humans was a result of "cognitive hijacking," where existing cognitive mechanisms related to sequential processing and motor execution were repurposed or exapted for language (Kolodny & Edelman, 2018, as cited in The Kolodny Lab - Publications and PubMed).
This hypothesis brings together insights from various fields including cognitive psychology, neuroscience, archaeology, and behavioral ecology. It suggests that the coupling of communication systems with those related to complex action planning and control was crucial in this evolutionary process. However, the specific prehistoric ecological contexts in which this development occurred and its adaptive value are still not fully understood.
Kolodny's proposition is that this coupling of communication and motor systems required a multi-stepped adaptive process, involving multiple genes and gene networks. He suggests that the selective pressure for these adaptations likely arose in a context where both the communication and motor systems were independently necessary or highly beneficial, and frequently used over evolutionary time. A potential context for this could have been the teaching and learning of tool production or tool use (Kolodny & Edelman, 2018, as cited in The Kolodny Lab - Publications and PubMed).
In summary, Kolodny's "cognitive hijacking" hypothesis posits that language evolved as a result of repurposing pre-existing cognitive mechanisms, likely driven by the needs of early humans in activities such as tool-making and tool-using, leading to the unique development of language in the human species.
You can read the entire paper at:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5812965/
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