#567 Chris Knight: The Cultural and Social Bases of Language
RECORDED ON SEPTEMBER 15th 2021.
Dr. Chris Knight is Honorary Professor in the Department of Anthropology at University College London. Over many years, he has been exploring the idea that human language and culture emerged in our species not purely through gradual Darwinian evolution but in a cumulative process culminating in sudden revolutionary change. The details of his ‘sex strike’ theory remain controversial, but the general idea that the transition to language was a ‘major transition’ or ‘revolution’ (often termed the human revolution) has been current for many years and is now widely agreed.
In this episode, we talk about Dr. Knight’s hypothesis about the emergence of human language. We discuss the social conditions that are needed for language to develop, and tackle questions surrounding language nativism and why other animals do not have language. We also get into cultural evolution, and its relationship with matrilocality.
Time Links:
Intro
The evolution of language
Language nativism
The social foundations of language
Language in other animals
The origins of language
Michael Tomasello, and human development
The evolution of languages
Human culture
Are human societies matrilocal or patrilocal?
Could we lose language?
Follow Dr. Knight’s work!
Follow Dr. Knight’s work:
Website: https://bit.ly/3pu7mwr
Science and Revolution blog: https://bit.ly/3zeBIae
ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/3A08bSV