The tripod effect : Evolutionary perspectives on cooperation, cognition and communication
Author
Editor
- F Stjernfeldt
- T Deacon
- T Schilhab
Summary, in English
This article concerns the co-evolution of hominin cooperation, communication and cognition. Certain hominin ecologies seem to have relied on cognitive foresight. The capacity of planning for future needs, combined with more developed cooperative skills, opened up the cognitive niche of cooperation towards future goals. Such cooperation requires complex intersubjectivity (theory of mind). We analyze five domains of intersubjectivity: emotion, desire, attention, intention, and belief; and argue that cooperation towards future goals requires, among other things, joint intentions (we-intentions). We scrutinize the cognitive and communicative conditions for reciprocal altruism, found in some species; and indirect reciprocity, a form of cooperation typical in the hominin line.
Sharing intentions and beliefs about the future requires communication about what is not present in the current environment. Symbols are efficient tools for this kind of communication, and we argue that the benefits of cooperation for the future selected for the evolution of symbolic communication. In line with recent models describing how indirect reciprocity might develop into an evolutionarily stable strategy, we emphasize the need for yet more complex intersubjectivity and symbolic communication, including a minimal syntax.
Our argumentation triangulates hominin cognition, cooperation, and communication, showing how these interdependent factors mutually reinforce each other over the course of evolution. The new take in this article is the combined analyses of cooperation and cognitive mechanisms. Finally, our theses are linked to archaeological evidence.
Sharing intentions and beliefs about the future requires communication about what is not present in the current environment. Symbols are efficient tools for this kind of communication, and we argue that the benefits of cooperation for the future selected for the evolution of symbolic communication. In line with recent models describing how indirect reciprocity might develop into an evolutionarily stable strategy, we emphasize the need for yet more complex intersubjectivity and symbolic communication, including a minimal syntax.
Our argumentation triangulates hominin cognition, cooperation, and communication, showing how these interdependent factors mutually reinforce each other over the course of evolution. The new take in this article is the combined analyses of cooperation and cognitive mechanisms. Finally, our theses are linked to archaeological evidence.
Department/s
- LUCS Cognitive Zoology Group
- Cognitive Science
- Theoretical Philosophy
- CogComlab
Publishing year
2012
Language
English
Pages
193-224
Publication/Series
Biosemiotics
Volume
6
Document type
Book chapter
Publisher
Springer
Topic
- Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology)
- Zoology
- Learning
- General Language Studies and Linguistics
Keywords
- cognitive foresight
- hominin evolution
- intersubjectivity
- cooperation
- joint intention
- reciprocal altruism
Status
Published
Research group
- LUCS Cognitive Zoology Group
- Lund University Cognitive Science (LUCS)
- CogComlab
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1875-4651
- ISBN: 978-94-007-2336-8
- ISBN: 978-94-007-2335-1