The Importance of Rapid Cultural Convergence in the Evolution of Learned Symbolic Communication (2001) [9 citations — 3 self]
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author = {Kenny Smith},
title = {The Importance of Rapid Cultural Convergence in the Evolution of Learned Symbolic Communication},
booktitle = {In J. Kelemen and P. Sosik (Eds.), Advances in Arti Life (Proceedings of the 6th European Conference on Arti Life},
year = {2001},
pages = {637--640},
publisher = {Springer}
}
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Abstract:
. Oliphant [6, 7] contends that language is the only naturallyoccurring, learned symbolic communication system, because only humans can accurately observe meaning during the cultural transmission of communication. This paper outlines several objections to Oliphant's argument. In particular, it is argued that learning mechanisms necessary to support learned symbolic communication may be unlikely to evolve in non-human species, irrespective of their capacity for observing meaning. This is due to a delay between the emergence of the appropriate learning mechanism and a fitness payoff to individuals possessing that learning mechanism. Two factors which reduce this delay and increase the likelihood of learned symbolic communication emerging are investigated. These factors emphasise the important role played by cultural processes in gene-culture coevolution during the evolution of communication. 1 Introduction Language is unique among the communication systems of the natural wo...
