The Coevolution of Language, Teaching, and Civil Discourse Among Humans

The story of how we humans came to be the way we are has been told many times, and new discoveries continue to prompt retellings. Seldom has the story been told with such verve. Donald Morrison explores the diverse evolutionary challenges, and the biocultural responses, that went to make our species. His message is that language, and teaching through language, is the linchpin that has come to hold the interlocking solutions together. He concludes by addressing the existential predicaments now facing us-the climate crisis, global inequality and the crisis of civil discourse-and challenges us to re-think how education and language can help us find a way through. --Chris Sinha, Hunan University, China Morrison has contributed a fascinating, readable analysis of the coevolution of language, thought, and culture throughout the development of our species. Other researchers have examined aspects of this coevolution, but none have looked in such depth at the role of teaching in supporting the growth of language and culture. Morrison's new analysis is important not only for the light it casts on co-evolution, but also for the implications it has for our understanding of the roots of education in human nature and society. --Brian MacWhinney, Carnegie Mellon University, USAThis book traces the evolutionary trajectory of language and teaching from the earliest periods of human evolution to the present day. The author argues that teaching is unique to humans and our ancestors, and that the evolution of teaching, language, and culture are the inextricably linked results of gene-culture coevolutionary processes. Drawing on related fields including archaeology, palaeontology, cultural anthropology, evolutionary psychology and linguistics, he makes the case that the need for joint attention and shared goals in complex adaptive strategies is the underlying driver for the evolution of language-like communication. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of these disciplines, as well as lay readers with an interest in human origins. Donald M. Morrison is a teacher and educational researcher. He is currently a Research Assistant Professor at the Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis, USA.