Adaptation and its analogues: Biological categories for biosemantics

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Mind and Language
• Evolutionary Biology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Teleosemantic and biosemantic theories naturalistically explain mind and language using "proper functions."
• These theories face challenges in analogizing biological functions to non-biological phenomena like language and culture.
• Existing models often lack clarity on the relationship between biological adaptations and cultural forms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically explore interpretations of the analogy between biological and non-biological "proper functions."
• To contrast adaptationist and pluralist readings of evolutionary adaptation in this context.
• To propose a more robust evolutionary pluralist biosemantics aligned with scaffolded cognition.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of adaptationist vs. pluralist evolutionary concepts.
• Examination of linear, hierarchical models versus mutualistic, pluralist models.
• Focus on co-operation, joint intentionality, mimesis, and symbolism in communication evolution.

Main Results:

• Identified two primary models for relating biological adaptations to language/culture: a linear, signalling-based model and a mutualistic, pluralist model.
• Argued for the superiority of the mutualistic, pluralist model.
• Demonstrated how this model aligns with environmentally "scaffolded" cognition.

Conclusions:

• Advocates for an evolutionary pluralist biosemantics.
• Highlights language and cultural forms as reproducible structures with their own proper functions.
• Emphasizes the co-evolutionary integration of cultural traits with organism-based cognitive traits.