5.1.3 Assumptions about the benefits of utilizing information

This investigation starts with the following key assumptions on information utilization:

• These assumptions should apply to all the species under consideration, i.e. to the whole evolutionary chain for 'inner' language.

Some actions are more successful than others

• Success is seen from an evolutionary perspective

To increase the likelihood of some action to be successful, the action must integrate information from perception and from feelings

• Survivability and thus evolutionary success depend on successful action, whether in feeding, fleeing, fighting, or mating.
• Relative success or failure is felt
• aspects of the perception and action are remembered
• Feelings such as hunger or fear motivate action

To increase the likelihood of the action to be successful, the action must benefit from learning, i.e. utilize past experience by integrating information from memory

• To do so we must have information storage and retrieval, i.e. memory
• Memory is discussed a few chapters later in this section.