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Evolution

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14 Stories That Prove Animals Have Souls. Human evolution. Human evolution is the evolutionary process leading up to the appearance of modern humans.

Human evolution

While it began with the last common ancestor of all life, the topic usually covers only the evolutionary history of primates, in particular the genus Homo, and the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species of hominids (or "great apes"). The study of human evolution involves many scientific disciplines, including physical anthropology, primatology, archaeology, ethology, linguistics, evolutionary psychology, embryology and genetics.[1] The earliest documented members of the genus Homo are Homo habilis which evolved around 2.3 million years ago; the earliest species for which there is positive evidence of use of stone tools.

The brains of these early hominins were about the same size as that of a chimpanzee, although it has been suggested that this was the time in which the human SRGAP2 gene doubled, producing a more rapid wiring of the frontal cortex. History of study[edit] Before Darwin[edit] De Waal Traces Human Behavior to Apes. Humans may have more in common with monkeys, chimpanzees and other non-human primates than they think, according to Frans de Waal, C.H.

De Waal Traces Human Behavior to Apes

Candler professor of primate behavior. De Waal, whom TIME magazine designated as one of “100 People Who Shape Our World,” described the uncanny similarities between human and ape behavior in the inaugural lecture of the Life of the Mind lunchtime lecture series on Wednesday. De Waal’s lecture, “Our Inner Ape: What Primate Behavior Teaches Us About Human Behavior,” focused on shared behaviors such as social reciprocity, communication and cultural transmission, which the primatologist likened to certain politicians’ behaviors. “George Bush has very ‘chimpy’ body language in my opinion,” he joked. Describing social reciprocity, de Waal explained that the way humans elect their political leaders mirrors the way an alpha male gains power. Aside from politics, de Waal is interested in studying similarities between human economics and primate economics.

Evolution of Language: Chomsky & Dennett. Jenny Cai Professor Grobstein March 14, 2011 Evolution of Language: Chomsky & Dennett Most conscious stories are told through the use of language and have been recorded in text and orally through time.

Evolution of Language: Chomsky & Dennett

The concept of language has been clearly defined and accepted but the evolution of language remains elusive. Many have puzzled over the definition of language and more specifically, which species use language. Chomsky’s cross-cultural research revealed that all children advance through different stages of language acquisition at a similar age for the same period of time. To explain the evolution of language, Chomsky applies recursion, the use of algorithm to obtain a calculation or function, to describe the process. Language affects the evolution of humans just as evolution affects language development.

References Dennett, Daniel C. K., Richard, Viviane Dèprez, and Hiroko Yamakido.The Evolution of Human Language: Biolinguistic Perspectives. Voyne, Neilson. Dunbar's number. Universal grammar. Universal grammar (UG) is a theory in linguistics, usually credited to Noam Chomsky, proposing that the ability to learn grammar is hard-wired into the brain.[1] The theory suggests that linguistic ability manifests itself without being taught (see the poverty of the stimulus argument), and that there are properties that all natural human languages share.

Universal grammar

It is a matter of observation and experimentation to determine precisely what abilities are innate and what properties are shared by all languages. Argument[edit] The theory of Universal Grammar proposes that if human beings are brought up under normal conditions (not conditions of extreme sensory deprivation), then they will always develop language with a certain property X (e.g., distinguishing nouns from verbs, or distinguishing function words from lexical words). As a result, property X is considered to be a property of universal grammar in the most general sense (here not capitalized).

I.e. History[edit] Chomsky's theory[edit]