''The Symbolic Species'' is a 1997 book by

biological anthropologist Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an e ...

Terrence Deacon Terrence William Deacon (born 1950) is an American neuroanthropologist (Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology, Harvard University 1984). He taught at Harvard for eight years, relocated to Boston University in 1992, and is currently Professor of Anth ...

on the

evolution of language The origin of language (spoken and signed, as well as language-related technological systems such as writing), its relationship with human evolution, and its consequences have been subjects of study for centuries. Scholars wishing to study th ...

. Combining perspectives from neurobiology, evolutionary theory, linguistics, and

semiotics Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes ( semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something ...

, Deacon proposes that language, along with the unique human capacity for symbolic thought, co-evolved with the brain. ''The Symbolic Species'' is a multi-disclipinary book that at the time of publishing was seen as groundbreaking. It is considered to have bound together a wide array of ideas in a way that advanced the understanding of professionals in several fields.

Symbolic thought and language

The reasons for the unique cognitive capacity of humans are explored, along with those for the large number of human activities impossible for animals. The human use of language is said to be responsible for both.

Co-evolution

chicken-and-egg problem The chicken or the egg causality dilemma is commonly stated as the question, "which came first: the chicken or the egg?" The dilemma stems from the observation that all chickens hatch from eggs and all chicken eggs are laid by chickens. "Chic ...

is shown to exist between the emergence of symbolic thought and language: language is said to be the medium of symbolic thought, but it is reasoned that mastery of language would first require the ability to think symbolically. The solution of this chicken-and-egg problem, according to Deacon, is the subtle evolutionary process of

co-evolution In biology, coevolution occurs when two or more species reciprocally affect each other's evolution through the process of natural selection. The term sometimes is used for two traits in the same species affecting each other's evolution, as well ...

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James R. Hurford James Raymond Hurford, FBA (born 16 July 1941) is a linguist and academic. He is the General Editor of the book series ''Oxford Studies in the Evolution of Language'', as well as a member of the Centre for Language Evolution (formerly Language ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Symbolic Species, The 1997 non-fiction books Books about cognition Books about evolutionary psychology English-language books Human evolution books Science books