Comparative Cognitive Science Research Articles

Origin of Language and Comparative Cognitive Science: Plan of the symposium

Comparative cognitive science aims to study cognitive abilities of various animals that evolved to fit various natural and social environments. By doing so, comparative cognitive science aims to understand uniqueness of Homo sapiens. However, the faculty of language, as it is so much unique to humans, has been out of the focus for comparative cognitive science. Here we suggest a pre-adaptationist approach to the biological origin of human language. In this approach, language is divided into several sub-faculties and each of these sub-faculties is approached from comparative cognitive science. In this symposium, we selected three subjects: Production and perception of behavioral sequence, tool-use and acquisition of symbolic representations, and three-term social relations. Based on these presentations, discussions are provided by researchers in linguistics and in evolutionary psychology.

Use of participation in comparative cognitive science

Use of participation in comparative cognitive science

Origin of Language and Comparative Cognitive Science: General Discussion

Pre-adaptationist approach to the origin of language enables it possible to study the origin of language from the perspective of comparative cognitive science. What are necessary for this field to be productive and scientifically sound? Discussion was led by comments from an evolutionary psychologist and a linguist. An idea of “masking and unmasking” as proposed by Deacon, was introduced to account for several phenomena explained in this symposium. For example, masking of species-recognition in domesticated bird might have resulted in unmasking of song syntax. Masking of several sensory abilities including rote memories necessary for wild life might have resulted in unmasking of symbolic conceptual representation. Masking of wild knowledge might have resulted in unmasking of social knowledge, and masking of two-term relationship might have resulted in unmasking of three-term social relationship.

Functional and structural pre‐adaptations to language: Insight from comparative cognitive science into the study of language origin1

Abstract: In this paper I propose hypotheses and strategies that can help integrating the comparative cognitive science and linguistics. First, I assume that language emerged by integrating several sub‐faculties and each of these sub‐faculties evolved gradually. These sub‐faculties probably evolved by reasons other than language, and thus they are pre‐adaptations to language. Second, I assume that language specific faculty does not exist but such a faculty is an emergent property from the integration of other sub‐faculties. For the partial verification of the correspondence between the assumed pre‐adaptation of a particular sub‐faculty in animals and the involvement of the sub‐faculty in the human language, I propose to utilize an external criterion such as the site of the brain activity. After explaining the research strategy, I attempted to provide accounts on several sub‐faculties and possible course of evolution by hypothesizing pre‐adaptations of each faculty. In conclusion, I argue that the comparative cognitive science is an important branch of the inquiry into the evolution of language.

Comparative cognitive science in Japan

Comparative cognitive science in Japan

Visual cognition from the standpoint of comparative cognitive science

Visual cognition from the standpoint of comparative cognitive science

For a rise of comparative cognitive science.

For a rise of comparative cognitive science.

Comparative cognitive science and the Japanese influence in primatology

AbstractReview of Primate Origins of Human Cognition and Behavior by Tetsuro Matsuzawa. Tokyo, Springer‐Verlag, 2001, xxi + 587 pp, 248 fig., 4 in color, $119.00.

Invitation to comparative cognitive science: An evolutionary understanding of the mind

Invitation to comparative cognitive science: An evolutionary understanding of the mind

Comparative cognitive science as the young animal psychologists view it : Report on the satellite symposium of the 58th Annual meeting of the Japanese Society for Animal Psychology

Comparative cognitive science as the young animal psychologists view it : Report on the satellite symposium of the 58th Annual meeting of the Japanese Society for Animal Psychology

Comparative physiology and biochemistry: Challenges for the future

1. 1. Comparative physiology is distinguished from other types of physiology by treating the diversity of solutions of functional problems and by using kind of animal as a functional variable. 2. 2. The strength of comparative physiology is its capacity to give some solutions to problems in basic biology. 3. 3. Specific examples of subject areas to which comparative physiology contributes are: (a) mechanisms underlying evolution; (b) the nature of speciation; (c) comparative cognitive science, neural models for behavior; and (d) applications of molecular techniques to physiology of whole animals. 4. 4. Applications continue in ecology, medicine and agriculture. 5. 5. The breadth of the comparative approach to physiology has important philosophical implications.