Evolution, communication, and the proper function of language

Gloria Origgi (1) , Dan Sperber (1)

1 IJN - Institut Jean-Nicod

Language is both a biological and a cultural phenomenon. Our aim here is to discuss, in an evolutionary perspective, the articulation of these two aspects of language. For this, we draw on the general conceptual framework developed by Ruth Millikan (1984) while at the same time dissociating ourselves from her view of language.

Mots clés: evolution; evolution of language; philosophy of language; philosophy of biology; Ruth Millikan; Paul Grice; relevance theory; pragmatics; culture; biological function; origin of language; metarepresentation; mindreading; theory of mind

Gloria Origgi, Dan Sperber. Evolution, communication, and the proper function of language. Peter Carruthers, Andrew Chamberlain. Evolution and the Human Mind: Language, Modularity and Social Cognition, pp.140-169, 2000. ⟨ijn_00000015⟩