Lingua ex machina : reconciling Darwin and Chomsky with the human brain / William H. Calvin, Derek Bickerton.

"A proper lingua ex machina would be a language machine capable of nesting phrases and clauses inside one another, complete with evolutionary pedigree. Such circuitry for structured thought might also facilitate creative shaping up of quality (figuring out what to do with the leftovers in the r...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Calvin, William H., 1939-
Other Authors: Bickerton, Derek
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, 2000.
©2000
Subjects:
Online Access:Click for online access
Description
Summary:"A proper lingua ex machina would be a language machine capable of nesting phrases and clauses inside one another, complete with evolutionary pedigree. Such circuitry for structured thought might also facilitate creative shaping up of quality (figuring out what to do with the leftovers in the refrigerator), contingency planning, procedural games, logic, and even music. And enhancing structural thought might give intelligence a big boost. Solve the cerebral circuitry for syntax, and you might solve them all." "William Calvin and Derek Bickerton offer three ways for getting from ape behaviors to syntax. They focus on the transition from simple word association in short sentences (proto-language) to longer recursively structural sentences (requiring syntax). They are after invention via sidesteps (Darwinian conversions of function), not straight-line gradual improvements."--Jacket.
Item Description:"A Bradford book."
Physical Description:1 online resource (298 pages) : illustrations
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-280) and index.
ISBN:9780262316132
0262316137
DOI:10.7551/mitpress/4246.001.0001
Access:Access restricted to York University faculty, staff and students.
Language:English.
Source of Description, Etc. Note:Print version record; title verified on publisher's Web site (viewed Jan. 20, 2011).