Page numbers refer to the print edition but are hyperlinked to the appropriate location in the e-book.
Academy (ancient Greek), 237
Adam (biblical character), 1, 2, 19, 191
adaptation, 23, 24, 35, 95, 97, 104, 110, 121, 122, 124, 128, 130, 131, 134, 137, 139, 157, 162, 170, 174, 198, 218, 244–46, 247. See also didactic adaptation
analogies: conspicuous, 69–77, 166, 193; of Darwin, 26, 27, 141, 232; of Dennett, 20, 35; for domestication, 14, 27; as imperfect, 217; Lewis on, 69, 73; natural, 137, 193, 219; as requiring creative interpretation, 99; role of, 166, 243; salient, 70, 71, 72, 73, 137, 166, 193; sheepdog as, 8–9, 201, 224; for vertebrate immune system, 227; virus as, 15
Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, The (Rembrandt), ii, 8–9, 19, 31, 33
apes, 100, 113, 115, 116, 117, 130–31, 132, 139, 148, 244. See also bonobos; chimpanzees; gibbons; orangutans
argument, as place where culture is managed, 161
artificial selection, 9, 11, 12, 21–22, 25, 26, 27, 35, 173, 204
Attic Greek (language), 4
Austin, John L., 6, 9, 195
Australia: Dixon’s study of ancient languages of, 111; song lines of ancient, 28
binding conventions, 63, 65, 66, 68, 136, 137, 180, 181, 189, 190
biological individuals: and beehives, 100–106; clashes among, 128; definition of, 100–101
biological information: beehives and biological individuals, 100–106; birdsong, as syntax without semantics, 106–12; nature of, 35; overview of, 91–100
bonobos: cognitive mechanisms of, 245; and cooperation, 134, 212; eye contact by, 75; location of, 148; sexuality of, 124, 125, 135; tool use by, 114
brain: of birds, 110, 120; of dolphins, 246; evolution of large, 88, 244; as involved in selection processes, 26; of monkeys, 87–88; role of, 99, 157; of termites, 144–45; of whales, 246
Categories (Aristotle), 167
Child’s Talk (Bruner), 192
chimpanzees: and additional requirements for adaptive cultural learning, 150; amount of culture of, 152; and assumptions, 211; blind imitation by, 168; cognitive mechanisms of, 245; and cooperation, 212; difference between ancestors of humans and, 158, 179, 193; emulation by, 164, 165–66; and error catastrophes, 97; form of play of, 215; free play of, of selectively inconsequential behaviors, 122–27; gestures of, 62, 215; hitting by, 75; as lacking common interests in performance of shared tasks, 58, 171; as lacking sense of humor, 218; level of complexity of communication of, 100; limitations of, 163; as living in every-person-for-himself world, 76; major transitions of, 127–32; maladaptive directions of, 157–58; and nonnatural meanings, 76; and pointing, 171, 199; and pride, 180; and role-reversal imitation, 198; sclera of eye of, 77; signaling skills of, 150–51; signals of, without syntax, 113–22; social forgetting by, 155; teaching, shared goals, and runaway sexual selection of, 133–42; tool use by, 165; trying to teach how to use fork, 171–72; as unresponsive to opportunities to acquire culture, 144
coevolutionary arms races, 144
coevolutionary interaction, 225
common knowledge, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 170, 171, 174, 178, 179, 180, 184, 206, 208, 209, 210, 211, 243. See also Lewisian common knowledge
computational generality, 92
Confessions (Augustine), 55
contingent irreversibility, 134
Convention (Lewis), v, 10, 36, 37, 39, 41, 62, 63, 64, 70, 81, 134, 189, 228, 242
conventional implicature, 207, 209
conventions: binding, 63, 65, 66, 68, 136, 137, 180, 181, 189, 190; binding versus nonbinding, 65, 66; contrasted to mannerisms, 29; dynamics of, 51–53; as involving focal points deriving specifically from historical precedent, 48; knowledge of, 53–55; Lewisian, 51, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 78, 119, 124, 166, 174, 179, 181, 204, 205; linguistic, 39, 41, 76, 77, 79, 181, 192, 201; meanings of words as, 9; nonbinding, 65, 66, 76, 77, 117, 136; self-interested participation in, 10; skepticism about, 37–42; Skyrmsian, 105; Skyrmsian communicative, 136; Skyrmsian signaling, 78, 79–85, 123, 125; as tools for coordination, 49
conversation: as excludable, 206; Grice’s theory of, 203–13; as non-rivalrous, 206; as place where culture is managed, 161; teaching as kind of, 162, 243
conversational implicature, 207
cooperative culture-filtration equipment, 138
cooperative filtration, 134
cooperative foragers, 177
coordination equilibrium, 45, 63, 66
coordination games, 41, 42–51, 59, 62, 63, 66, 70, 101, 106, 134, 204
Csibra, Gergely, 137, 162, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 175
culling processes, 12, 24, 32, 139, 142, 144, 147, 152, 161, 174
cultural evolution: amount of, compared with biological evolution, 15; as analogous to domestication, 27; cumulative, 116, 131; as kind of Darwinian evolution, 158; mechanics of, 142; models of, 147, 148, 152, 159, 229, 242; as not always increasing Darwinian fitness, 143; power of, 99; as predating domestication of animals and plants, 24; speed of, 224
“Cultural Evolution of Words and Other Thinking Tools, The” (Dennett), 13
cultural immunity system, 158
cultural selection, 99, 162
culture-dependent creativity, 231, 232
Darwin, Charles: analogy of, between evolution and domestication, 27; on artificial selection, 9, 11, 12, 21, 26, 35; The Descent of Man, 26, 139, 141; The Origin of Species, 86, 116; on present as clue to past, 11; on process that gave us flowers, 86; on redundancy, 116–17; on sexual selection, 139, 140, 141, 232; The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, 27; on “war of Nature,” 98
Darwinian assumption of continuity, 35
Darwinian domestication, 10, 13, 14, 16, 24, 26, 28, 29, 36, 40, 162
Darwinian point of view, 144, 177
Darwinian terms: benefits, 101; jokes, 218; learning to see behaviors in, 34
Darwinian theoretical alternative, 16
declarative knowledge, 56
Dennett, Daniel: on alternative of domestication, 15; analogies of, for human relationship with ordinary words, 20; analogy of, with Darwin’s model of unconscious artificial selection, 35; on artificial selection, 12; on association with words being maladaptive, 15; “The Cultural Evolution of Words and Other Thinking Tools,” 13; on domestication as good model for evolution of technical terms, 9, 229, 234; on domestication as possible solution, 142; on evolution of human language, 13; on evolution of words and music, 11; on languages/words thought of as domesticated, 241; memetic perspective of, 15, 16, 17; on modern technical languages as domesticated, 234; on owning and responsibility for words, 18; on rejection of domestication as theory of evolution of words in ordinary language, 13, 14; on some words as being domesticated, 24; synanthropic model of, of human language, 23, 53; theory of, of difference between ordinary and technical languages, 204
Descent of Man, The (Darwin), 26, 139, 141
description, as process, 188
Discourse on the Origins of Inequality (Rousseau), 63
divide the dollar (game), 44
dogs, 8, 10, 13, 16, 21, 23, 24, 54, 77, 100, 118, 139, 161, 171, 177
domestication: Darwinian, 10, 13, 14, 16, 24, 26, 28, 29, 36, 40, 162; definition of, 13; as hypothesis, 11–29; as model for evolution of technical terms, 9, 10, 33–34
Don Quixote (literary character), 224
driving on right-hand side of road example, 48, 49, 101
education, as adaptive, 243
emulation, 26, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 164–66, 168, 174
enforcement, mechanisms of, 62, 65
Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, An (Hume), 168
Enquist, Magnus, 151, 152, 153, 154, 158, 160, 226, 229, 230, 231, 233, 242
environmental instability, 148, 153
equilibrium: coordination, 45, 63, 66; determination of, 48; human language as, 62; Lewisian convention as, 204; multiple possible equilibrium outcomes, 43; non-risk-dominant optimal coordination equilibrium, 66; obvious coordination, 45; payoff-dominant, 64, 71, 135, 172; risk-dominant, 63, 64, 71, 101, 135; signaling, 82; signaling system, 80
error catastrophe, 94, 95, 96, 97, 128, 130, 131, 132, 137, 142, 146, 147, 243
evolution: Darwinian, 12, 67, 88, 121, 158; of human language, 4, 13, 24, 35, 89, 108, 111, 124, 183; of language, 11, 35, 161, 190; of large brain, 88, 244; major transitions in, 116, 209, 242, 244; of semantics, 29–36, 89, 213; of signals, 85–90; of syntax, 29, 31, 89; of technical terms, 9, 10, 33–34; as theory of origin of modern technical languages, 18; as wasteful, 248. See also cultural evolution; human evolution
“Evolution of Conventions, The” (Young), 9, 64, 80
eye, sclera of: chimpanzee, 77; human, 77, 118
first legislators, as creating basic elements of human languages, 2, 3
Forgotten Revolution, The (Russo), 4
free play of selectively inconsequential behaviors, 122–27
games: Book Reading, 199, 201; classes of, 42; cooperative, 42, 43, 62, 63, 66; coordination, 41, 42–51, 59, 62, 63, 66, 70, 101, 106, 134, 204; divide the dollar, 44; Game of Life, 92; impure coordination, 43, 44; language, 192, 194, 201; noncooperative, 42; peekaboo, 194, 195, 196, 197–99, 200, 201; prisoner’s dilemma, 108–9; pure coordination, 43, 44, 101; zero-sum, 42
Gergely, György, 137, 162, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 175
“Gestural Repertoire of Chimpanzees, The” (Call and Tomasello), 117
Ghirlanda, Stefano, 151, 152, 153, 154, 158, 160, 226, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 242
grandmothers, importance of in human evolution, 139
Grice, H. P., 72, 73, 75, 85, 204, 206, 207, 209, 210, 213, 214, 215; “Logic and Conversation,” 204
Gricean indicative pointing, 173
Gricean kind of attention management, 77
Gricean nonnatural meaning, 73, 74, 76, 78
Gricean thwack on the head, 177
historical-chain-of-transmission theory of reference, 9
Homeric Greek (language), 4, 34
human evolution: importance of grandmothers in, 139; importance of sexual selection in, 140, 232; Machiavellian perspective on, 176; macrotheory of, 175; and “social learning” hypothesis, 176, 243; theories of, 88, 139; understanding of, 98
human knowledge, sources of, 168
human language: as adaptation, 247; chimpanzee gestures compared with, 117, 121; as complex, 7, 111, 113; conventions of, 38–77; Dennett’s synanthropic model of, 23, 53; evolution of, 4, 13, 24, 35, 89, 108, 111, 124, 183; evolutionary aspects of, 242; first legislators as creating basic elements of, 2, 3; model of conventions of, 242; moral with respect to, 248; natural, 23, 34; origins of, 85, 105; syntax of, 225, 228; telling truth in, 60. See also language
idiolects, 12, 18, 41, 67, 68, 96, 130, 190, 192, 199, 219, 222, 248
imitation, 32, 38, 81, 82, 120–21, 126, 127, 128, 130, 131, 132, 146, 147–51, 155, 163, 164, 166, 168, 173, 223. See also blind imitation; role-reversal imitation
impure coordination game, 43, 44
information bottleneck, 83, 87
informative pointing, 171
instruction and rehearsal, 201
intelligence, type 1 and type 2, 246
intelligent design, 15, 16
intelligent filtration, 32, 152
interpretation, 56, 57, 69, 73, 74, 110, 188, 190, 191, 194, 196, 213–16, 218–24, 234, 243, 244–45
joke-in-conversation, 221
Jonathan (research subject), 197–99
Kandori, Michihiro, 63, 64
knowledge: cultural, 168; decorative, 56; human, sources of, 168; private, 209; sensu composito, 54, 55, 228; sensu diviso, 54, 55. See also common knowledge
language: acquisition of, 181, 192, 193, 194, 195, 243; complex, 83, 88, 89, 113, 117, 218; compound, 239; evolution of, 11, 35, 161, 190; Greek, 4, 34, 234, 236; of a human population, 56–68; Lewisian, 74; Nicaraguan Sign Language, 28; pidgin, 30, 110; prestige, 112; role of, in elimination of maladaptive culture, 159; signaling, 68, 72, 82, 84, 115; technical, 3, 9, 13, 17, 18, 38, 201, 204, 229, 234–39. See also human language
learning by reinforcement, 82
Lewis, David: on analogies, 69, 93; on any particular language being the language of any human population, 67; on being trapped by convention, 59–60; on clashes of idiolects, 222; on common interests, 58–59; on complicated events, 99; Convention, v, 10, 36, 37, 39, 41, 62, 63, 64, 70, 81, 134, 189, 228, 242; on conventions becoming traps, 154; on conventions coming and going, 53; on conventions managing to remain stable, 79, 80, 159; on coordinating around new convention, 160; on coordination games, 43; definition of convention of, 48, 85, 153; driving on right-hand side of road example, 48, 49, 101; on explicitness, 82; on human behavior, 62; on idiolects, 96; on knowledge of conventions, 54, 55; on logical notation, 67; on mannerisms, 29; model of conventions of human language of, 242; model of signaling system of, 80; on nonnatural meaning, 74–75; on questioning Russell’s rejection of public linguistic conventions, 41; on refining associations of convention, 248; on regularity ceasing to be conventional, 51; on sense of word convention, 10; on signals, 72; on Skyrmsian conventions, 81; on social contract as compared with convention, 60, 61; on truth conditions of imperative sentence, 58; on verbal signaling languages/system, 56–57, 82
Lewisian binding convention, 66
Lewisian conventions, 51, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 78, 119, 124, 166, 174, 179, 181, 204, 205
Lewisian higher-order expectations, 47
Lewisian recursive replication of mental states, 172
Lewisian signaling language, 115
Lewisian social conventions, 59
Lewisian theoretical framework, 29–30
lies, discernment of, 101–3
“Logic and Conversation” (Grice), 204
Major Transitions in Evolution, The (Smith and Szathmáry), 103
maladaptive culture, 129, 132, 133, 137, 142, 145, 146, 147, 154, 156, 157, 159, 160, 225, 226, 232, 242
mathematical definitions, 4
Maynard Smith, John, 103, 104, 105, 116, 127, 134, 142, 209, 242, 244
“Meaning of ‘Meaning,’ The” (Putnam), 184, 187
Mendelian transmission, 146
Metaphysics (Aristotle), 4
multiple possible equilibrium outcomes, 43
mutations, 12, 33, 94, 95–97, 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 160, 161, 224
Naming and Necessity (Kripke), 186
New Caledonian crows, 178
Nicaraguan Sign Language, 28
noise, 23, 65, 92, 94, 96, 129, 137, 138, 139, 142, 146, 188, 211, 226
nomothetes, 2, 3, 5, 6, 41, 219, 224, 234, 236, 237, 239, 249
non-risk-dominant optimal coordination equilibrium, 66
obligatory sexual reproduction, 104, 105
obvious coordination equilibrium, 45
one if by land, two if by sea example, 50, 51, 57, 68, 72, 80, 83, 85, 86, 124, 136, 166
On Philosophy (Aristotle), 22
On the Sublime (Longinus), 249
ontogenic ritualization, 120, 125
optimization mechanism, 152, 247
Origin of Species, The (Darwin), 86, 116
paradox: of Plato, 5, 6, 7, 41, 82; of Quine, 1, 4, 6, 7, 41
parasites, parasitism, 21, 99, 104, 106, 110, 129, 134, 137, 138, 139, 142, 144, 146, 154, 158, 161, 225, 227
Pavlovian reinforcement, 87, 88
payoff-dominant amount of attention, 71, 134
Philosophical Investigations (Wittgenstein), 192
pidgin languages, 30, 110
Plato, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 20, 28, 41, 69, 82, 167, 224, 236, 237, 238, 249
precedent, 41, 46, 48, 50, 53, 62, 65, 75, 119, 159, 174
Principia Mathematica (Whitehead and Russell), 53
principle of quality, 214
prisoner’s dilemma (game), 108–9
Putnam, Hilary, 18, 63, 101, 184, 185, 186–87, 189, 194, 196, 243
quality, principle of, 214
Quine, W. V., v, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 31, 37, 38, 39–40, 41, 55, 81, 82, 189, 191
rational transparency, 34
recursive mind-reading, 200
reinforcement: learning by, 82; models of, 87, 89, 90, 123; Pavlovian, 87, 88
Rembrandt van Rijn, v, 8, 33
replicator dynamics, 82, 87
Richard (research subject), 200–201
risk-dominant amount of attention, 71, 134, 172
role-reversal imitation, 120, 198
Sancho Panza (literary character), 224
Schelling, Thomas, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 62, 79, 160, 180
semantics: definition of, 29; evolution of, 29–36, 89, 213; syntax without (bird-song), 106–12
sensu composito knowledge, 54, 55, 228
sensu diviso knowledge, 54, 55
“sexy sons” hypothesis, 141
signaling equilibrium, 82
signaling system equilibriums, 80
signaling systems, 50, 56, 59, 80, 81, 83, 86, 89, 103, 106, 112, 116, 125
signals, evolution of, 85–90
Skyrms, Brian: on deliberateness, 82; on evolution of signaling conventions, 9; on information bottleneck, 83; on learning through reinforcement, 82; models of conventions of human language of, 242; models of reinforcement of, 87, 89, 90, 123; on origins of language, 7; on Pólya-urn process, 84; semiaccidental method of, 122; on signaling conventions, 80, 81; Signals, 36, 77, 85
Skyrmsian communicative conventions, 136
Skyrmsian conventions, 105
Skyrmsian signaling language, 115
Skyrmsian signaling system, 116
social contracts, v, 31, 38, 59, 60, 61, 62, 65, 72, 73, 124, 136, 172, 177, 189, 215, 219, 221
“social intelligence” hypothesis, 176
“social-pragmatic” theory of language acquisition, 192
Socrates, 2, 3, 4, 5, 18, 180, 191, 224, 229, 237, 238, 247
Sterelny, Kim, 128, 133, 134, 135, 138, 162, 175–76, 177, 178, 179, 212, 243
syntax: evolution of, 29, 31, 89; learning of, 194; as more or less arbitrary, 193; signals without, 113–22; without semantics (birdsong), 106–12
Szathmáry, Eörs, 103, 104, 105, 116, 127, 134, 142, 209, 242, 244
tacit bargaining, 44, 160
tags, meanings of words as, 9
Tasmania, material culture of, 152, 229
teachers, role of, 1, 3, 6, 53, 71, 72, 133, 135, 137, 139, 161, 167, 168, 174–75, 180
teaching: as form of domestication of culture, 137; as kind of conversation, 162; psychological adaptations for, 137; role of teachers in, 1, 3, 6, 53, 71, 72, 133, 135, 137, 139, 161, 167, 168, 174–75, 180; as specialized conversation, 243
technical terms/language, 3, 9, 13, 17, 18, 38, 201, 204, 229, 234–39
teleological opacity, 166, 170
Tomasello, Michael, 58, 75–76, 77, 117, 119, 122, 138, 192, 193, 208, 212
tool use, 24–25, 76, 114, 125–27, 128, 132, 133, 155, 164, 165, 175, 178, 179, 180, 181, 212, 229, 245, 246. See also Acheulean technology; Levallois technique; Oldowan technology
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (Wittgenstein), 6
“Truth by Convention” (Quine), 37, 39
Twin Earth Chronicles (Pessin and Goldberg): Earth and Twin Earth in, 185, 187; John and Twin John in, 184–85, 187, 202, 228;
“Two Dogmas of Empiricism” (Quine), 39, 40
unconscious artificial selection, 11, 35, 173
Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, The (Darwin), 27
verbal signaling system, 56
vertical transmission, 146, 147
Wallace, Alfred Russel, 140
Youngian nonbinding convention, 66, 77