An account of grammatical acquisition is developed within the parametersetting framework applied to a generalized categorial grammar (GCG). The GCG is embedded in a default inheritance network yielding a natural partial ordering (reflecting generality) of parameters which determines a partial order for parameter setting. Computational simulation shows that several resulting acquisition procedures are effective on a parameter set expressing major typological distinctions based on constituent order, and defining 70 distinct full languages and over 200 subset languages. The effects on acquisition of inductive bias, that is, of differing initial parameter settings, are explored via computational simulation. Computational simulation of populations of language learners and users instantiating the acquisition model show: 1) that variant acquisition procedures, with differing inductive biases, exert differing selective pressures on the evolution of language(s); 2) acquisition proc...

An account of parameter setting during grammatical acquisition is presented in terms of Generalized Categorial Grammar embedded in a multiple default inheritance hierarchy, providing a natural partial ordering on the setting of parameters (Briscoe, 1997a). Experiments reported show that several experimentally effective learners can be defined in this framework capable of reliably acquiring a grammar from a sequence of triggers drawn from one of 70 full languages (or the 200+ more restricted subset languages of these full languages). Evolutionary computational simulations of evolving populations of such language learners/users suggest that: 1) languages evolve towards greater learnability, interpretability and/or expressivity; 2) learning procedures evolve towards more efficient variants depending on the linguistic environment of adaptation. The reciprocal evolution of language learning procedures and of language creates a genuinely coevolutionary dynamic, despite the relative speed of ...

This paper addresses the relationship between social intelligence and narrative intelligence, with a particular emphasis on 1) the phylogenetic origins of primate (narrative) intelligence, and 2) the ontogenetic origin of autobiographical stories. The `Narrative Intelligence Hypothesis` (NIH) is introduced according to which the evolutionary origin of stories and narrativity was correlated with increasing social dynamics in primate societies, in particular the need to communicate about third-party relationships. Requirements for artificial socially intelligent story-tellers are outlined, and the issue of testing social intelligence is discussed.

There has been a conceptual revolution in the biological sciences over the past several decades. Evidence from genetics, embryology, and developmental biology has converged to offer a more epigenetic, contingent, and dynamic view of how organisms develop. Despite these advances, arguments for the heuristic value of a gene-centered, predeterministic approach to the study of human behavior and development have become increasingly evident in the psychological sciences during this time. In this article, the authors review recent advances in genetics, embryology, and developmental biology that have transformed contemporary developmental and evolutionary theory and explore how these advances challenge gene-centered explanations of human behavior that ignore the complex, highly coordinated system of regulatory dynamics involved in development and evolution. The prestige of success enjoyed by the gene theory might become a hindrance to the understanding of development by directing our attention solely to the genome....Already we have theories that refer the processes of development to genic action and regard the whole performance as no more than the realization of the potencies of the genes. Such theories are altogether too one-sided. (Harrison, 1937, p. 370) There is growing consensus in popular culture that by understanding genes and the mutual interactions of the proteins derived from them it is possible to understand all of life, including human nature. Psychology is no stranger to this perspective. As most psychologists are aware, a blend of ethology and sociobiology known as evolutionary psychology has gained increasing attention and recognition over the past several decades. Arguments for the heuristic value of a gene-centered, evolutionary approach to the study of human behavior have become increasingly evident in mainstream psychology journals (i.e., Buss, 1995; Buss & Schmitt,

An account of grammatical acquisition is developed within the parameter-setting framework applied to a generalized categorial grammar (GCG). The GCG is embedded in a default inheritance network yielding a natural partial ordering (reflecting generality) of parameters which determines a partial order for parameter setting. Computational simulation shows that several resulting acquisition procedures are effective on a grammar / language set expressing major typological distinctions based on constituent order, and defining 70 distinct full languages and over 200 subset languages. The effects on acquisition of maturational working memory limitations, trigger presentation sequences, parameter update criteria, and differing initial settings are explored via computational simulation. Computational simulations of populations of language learners / users instantiating the model show: 1) that variant acquisition procedures with differing constraints and biases exert differing selective pressures on the evolution of language; 2) acquisition procedures will evolve towards more efficient variants in the environment of adaptation. The reciprocal evolution of language acquisition procedures and of language creates a genuinely coevolutionary dynamic, despite the relative speed of linguistic selection for language variants compared to natural selection for variant language acquisition procedures.

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This article represents both a continuance and a reformulation of an ongoing project: a call to sociology proper to “bring nature back in. ” Moving beyond such earlier heuristics as Demeritt’s “conjoined materiality, ” Freudenburg and colleagues ’ “conjoint constitution,” Norgaard’s “coevolution, ” and Bell’s “ecological dialogue, ” this article uses Bhaskar’s work and his writings on critical realism to develop a conceptual framework through which to view nature-society relations. Following a brief overview of Bhaskarian critical realism, a conceptual typology is forwarded whereby reality is collapsed into three fluid categories referred to as (in descending order of ontological depth) “nature, ” nature, and Nature. Through this, a sketch of reality is presented that allows for critical discussion and analysis concerning the growing interrelationship between the social and the natural realms, while opening the door for debate as to what this dynamic means for sociology’s long-term viability.