This book explores the evolutionary and cognitive foundations of human communication, focusing on narrative as its distinctive dimension. Within a framework of continuity with both the communication of our hominin predecessors and that of non-human animals, the book is about a twofold proposal. It includes the idea that (human and animal) communication has an intrinsically persuasive nature along with the hypothesis that humans developed narrative forms of communication in order to enhance their persuasive abilities. In this view, narrative persuasion becomes the feature that distinguishes human communication from animal communication. The study of the transition from animal communication to language addresses both the selective pressures that led communication for persuasive purposes to take a narrative form and the cognitive architectures and expressive systems that enabled our ancestors to cope with the selective pressures of persuasive/narrative-based communication.
Language evolution is interdisciplinary, even from the specific perspective of evolutionary pragmatics chosen here. Therefore, this book is intended for researchers working in fields such as cognitive sciences, philosophy, evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology, and primatology. It also represents a valuable resource for advanced students in cognitive sciences, linguistics, and philosophy.
Table of Content
Narrative and persuasion.- Two models of communication.- Beyond the social brain.- The narrative brain.- Stories without language.
About the author
Francesco Ferretti is graduated in Philosophy and received a Ph D in Philosophy (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy) with a dissertation on the imagistic nature of thought and language. He is currently Full Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Sciences of Language in the Department of Philosophy, Communication, and Performing Arts at Roma Tre University, where he also manages the Cosmic Lab (Cognition, Social Multimodal Interaction & Communication Laboratory). His main research interests concern the origins and nature of language and narrative, from a pragmatic and evolutionary perspective, with a specific focus on persuasion. He published several monographs and scientific articles on international journals such as “Frontiers in Psychology”, “Cognitive Science”, “Language & Communication”, ‘Journal of Neurolinguistics’, “Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B”.
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