The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain

Theorizing that the human brain and language developed in concert, a study of the origin of language argues that the seeds of language grew and developed in pair bonding between proto- and early-human males and females.

A neurologist and anthropologist with Harvard Medical School, Deacon considers why language is confined to humans and why no simple languages exist. He proposes that symbolic reference is both the defining feature of language and the principle cause for the expansion of the human profrontal cortex. This "evolutionary anomaly" has, in turn, given rise to a brain that is biased to use an associative learning process critical for language success. Deacon also suggests that human-reproduction demands may have been the driving selection factor that led to symbolic communication. In presenting his theory, Deacon challenges many of the ideas of Noam Chomsky and, more recently, Steven Pinker (The Language Instinct, LJ 2/1/94), who argued for the existence of an innate "Universal Grammar." Directing his book at a scientific audience, Deacon blends a knowledge of a neurobiology, anthropology, linguistics, and philosophy into an original, well-argued, compelling theory of language development. Complex and extremely challenging, this book should receive considerable review attention. Highly recommended for academic and major public libraries.?Laurie Bartolini, Legislative Research, Springfield, Ill.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Deacon states his intention to use mainly nontechnical terminology to make available to as many readers as possible his ideas concerning language, the brain, and how they coevolved--in contrast to the evolution of nonhuman brains. Readers who savor the latest scientific research but do not possess the esoteric vocabulary that allows for easy penetration of such lofty thoughts should find Deacon's book both fascinating and accessible. In Deacon's exploration of human consciousness, the realms of neuroscience and evolutionary biology, among others, are within reach as Deacon ponders how language came about, how the brains of Homo sapiens function, and why they are wired in ways that allow us to communicate by speaking. Such questions are at the heart of this treatise. Alice Joyce