The Evolution of Communication: (The Evolution of Communication)

The current wave of research activity on the evolution of cognition is rooted, both historically and intellectually, in the question of how human language evolved. But scientific progress on this question has been stalled in a debate about whether the question can even be broached. Breaking this deadlock, "The Evolution of Communication" addresses the problems of how communication systems, including language, have been designed over the course of evolution. "The Evolution of Communication" looks at species in their natural environments as a way to begin to understand what the real units of analysis of communicating systems are, using arguments about design and function to illuminate both the origin and subsequent evolution of each system. The book is broadly integrative, synthesizing conceptual issues and empirical results from neurobiology, cognitive and developmental psychology, linguistics, evolutionary biology, ethology, and anthropology. It covers a diverse group of organisms, including insects, frogs, birds, bats, monkeys and humans, dissecting the unique design features of each species' communication system. Hauser places comparative communication into the structure of Tinbergen's four causal questions (with some modification) in an examination of communication and neurobiological design, ontogenetic design, adaptive design and psychological design. For each major topic he works through a small set of cases that elegantly and comprehensively illustrate a particular process. The empirical work is restricted to natural communicating systems that use auditory, visual or audiovisual signals.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 Synopsis of the argument: some background information - communication and information, the comparative method - which species to compare and what to conclude?. Part 2 The evolution of communication - historical overview - the design of natural communication systems; language evolution - linguists take a look - uniqueness, Noam Chomsky, Derek Bickerton, Philip Lieberman, Charles Hockett, Steven Pinker; language evolution - biologists take a look - general comments, Peter Marler, W. John Smith; synthesis. Part 3 Conceptual issues in the study of communication: signals designed for a complex environment - the ecology of signal transmission, the ecology of signal detection, adaptation and signal design; problems of similarity and classification - the concept of similarity, similarity and classification, units of analysis and their classification in communication; potential fruits of Tinbergen's research design. Part 4 Biological design and communication: mating signals - frogs and birds - anuran advertisement calls, avian song; survival signals - bats - bat echolocation - the problem; social signals - nonhuman and human primates - nonhuman primate vocalisations - general, human language, facial expression and perception in primates. Part 5 Genetic design and communication: mating signals - birds - avian song; survival signals - squirrels and primates - ground squirrel alarms, vervet monkey alarm calls; social signals - primates - nonhuman primate vocalisations, human spoken language, human sign language, facial and gestural expressions in primates. Part 6 Design and communication: mating signals - frogs, birds, and primates - anuran advertisement calls,, avian advertisement signals, primate copulation calls and sexual swellings; survival signals - insects, birds, squirrels, and primates - alarm signals, warning colours, food-associated signals; social signals - birds and primates - dominance signals and cues. (Part contents).

About the Author :
Marc D. Hauser is Professor of Psychology and Codirector of the Mind, Brain, and Behavior Program at Harvard University.

Review :
"Few writers have so far even attempted a general overview ofanimal communication, so Marc Hauser's book is timely if notoverdue. Hauser brings to the task a formidable knowledge of the field(his bibliography contains some 1,500 items) plus a lucid style and aninfectious enthusiasm that carry one smoothly through an immense mazeof information and make complex biological theories accessible even tothe uninitiated. For anyone concerned with the comparative study ofcommunication, this book is likely to remain an indispensable sourcefor some time to come." Derek Bickerton , Nature