The Evolution of Communication

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…