This website reports on an investigation of the relationship between language and evolution. The main question is how human language might arise through the evolution of species.
An important focus of this investigation is the relationship between perception and action. We explore the concept of an inner language to facilitate information processing between visual perception and bodily action. Inner language is about self-control, about controlling the movement of limbs, etc. Outer language is about interacting with other individuals in the same species such as for dominance and mating rituals.
A second theme is learning in a variety of forms. Learning is our main link to evolution. We assume that better learning leads to better actions and thus to improved chances in the competition underlying evolution.
This investigation uses a synthetic rather than an experimental approach. We ask the question how we might make it all work, rather than the question on what we can observe when we take it apart. The core hypothesis is that language arises from the compression that allows information gathered through perception to influence action. It is a "bold hypothesis" in Karl Popper's sense, but rather than asking for simple falsification it issues an invitation to come up with a better mechanism that integrates perception with action, fits in with evolution, and offers help in exploring semantics and education.
The investigation started in the early 1960s when the author, studying theoretical physics, decided it was more interesting to investigate how theories were created rather than investigating the testing of these theories. The path took him through Sociology and Anthropology at UBC to Social Psychology, Mathematical Psychology, Computer Science, Linguistics, and Modal Logic at the University of Michigan. The thesis was a computational model of language comprehension, including a simplistic Turing test. The next stage took him through learning systems (The Automated Research Assistant at Queen's University) and Expert Systems to Knowledge Engineering and introducing new technology in many areas, from aerospace to mining, and from banks to bingo halls and beauty pageants. This research reflects all those influences.
The site tends to be in a bit of a mess, as I keep changing it as I am working on the ideas. I should take the time to clean it all up, but somehow it rarely happens. If you are interested in the subject, and have comments or questions, please contact me via email: drrainer@gmail.com
The bibliography is a sparse list chosen from a huge body of literature on the subject matter dealt with here. It is meant as a teaser rather than as a complete list.
This paper is dedicated to my many mentors including Ernie Lindner in Saskatchewan, Reginald Robson at UBC, Arthur Burks and my thesis committee at Michigan.
Rainer von Königslöw, Toronto, 2006
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