Wes, Dylan, and guest Chris Heath continue to discuss The Evolution of Agency (2022) in light of our interview with the author in part one. We relate examples from the book of animals of various levels of complexity making deliberative decisions, exhibiting rationality, experiencing causality, or otherwise engaging in agentive or proto-agentive behaviors. One particularly Continue Reading …
Ep. 326: Guest Michael Tomasello on the Evolution of Agency (Part One for Supporters)
The psycho-linguist prof. from Duke University joins Wes, Dylan, Seth, and Chris Heath to discuss his 2022 book, The Evolution of Agency: Behavioral Organization from Lizards to Humans. What is human agency? How would we determine whether an animal is a legitimate agent, as opposed to just acting automatically? Tomasello investigates this by thinking about what capabilities Continue Reading …
Ep. 323: Acquiring Language: Tomasello vs. Chomsky (Part One)
Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content. On Michael Tomasello's "Language Is Not an Instinct" (1995) and ch. 1, 2, 8 and 9 of Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition (2003), plus the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article Innateness and Language by Fiona Cowie (posted 2008, updated 2017). Featuring Continue Reading …
Ep. 323: Acquiring Language: Tomasello vs. Chomsky (Part Two for Supporters)
Continuing from part one on Michael Tomasello's "Language Is Not an Instinct" (1995) and Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition (2003), as contrasted with Chomsky universal grammar (the flag that Steven Pinker continues to carry). With guest Christopher Heath. We get into more of the insights and studies that drove Chomsky and Pinker to argue Continue Reading …
Ep. 323: Acquiring Language: Tomasello vs. Chomsky (Part One for Supporters)
On Michael Tomasello's "Language Is Not an Instinct" (1995) and ch. 1, 2, 8 and 9 of Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition (2003), plus the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article Innateness and Language by Fiona Cowie (posted 2008, updated 2017). Featuring Mark, Wes, Seth, Dylan, and guest Christopher Heath. Clearly we are not born Continue Reading …