Evolution of Intelligence, Animal Communication, & Language · Psychology
I learned a lot about multiple topics summrising evolution and consciousness
I learned a lot about the evolution of language in human beings. I also learned a lot about the definition and characteristics i had not known about or thought about. I also learned about the development of AI which i thought was a cool tie in to the course.
I learn a lot about evolution of intelligence.
I learned about the possible origins of language in humans, including a lot of psych / philosophy theory
I learned a lot about animal communication, language, and cognition
I have become more knowledgeable about evolution, animal communication, learning, human communication and AI. I have also been able to ameliorate my participation, analysis and presentation skills.
I learned about how human language differs from animals, I learned more about the theory of evolution, and I learned more about infant cognition. I also learned more about the subjects of intersubjectivity and joint attention, which I had never heard of before this course.
I learned that communication and language are two different things. Specific non-human species such as chimps and scrub jays have memory. Different studies, including ones performed by Dr. Terrace, have shown that chimps can communicate when the result is a reward of food but producing language there is no evidence of yet. There are different theories when it comes language. Chomsky, and Bickerton are three major theorists in what language is and how we as humans come to produce it. Chomsky began his theory with the idea of universal grammar, Dr. Terrace argues for joint attention and intersubjectivity. How we produce language is still an important issue that is up for debate.
I learned a lot about developmental psychology and how we learn language. I also learned theories about how and why language developed along with a comprehensive history of cognitive psychology.
It depends on what type of course structure you like. This is definitely a slow burn course where people present every week on theories/ideas that eventually builds into a largely philosophical discussion around the evolution of language. It's fun and I enjoyed it, but may not be for everyone