The Evolution of Agency Behavioral Organization from Lizards to Humans

Introduction

The speaker introduces the webinar and provides information about TIES, including their social media accounts, website, and resources. They also mention that they are seeking tips from teachers on how to address common misconceptions about evolution.

TIES Information

• TIES is an organization that provides free resources for teachers.

• Their official website is ty'seducation.org.

• They are seeking tips from teachers on how to address common misconceptions about evolution.

• Teachers can send a 3-6 minute video with their tips to ty'seducation.org.

TIES Resources

• TIES has published a book called "I'm Teaching Evolution" which includes QR codes linking to free lessons on their website.

• Upcoming webinars for September and October can be found on their website or Facebook page.

• Other programs include Young Skeptics and Scienceaves.org, which provide inquiry-based learning lessons for various subjects at different grade levels.

Scholarship Information

• TIES offers a scholarship of $10,000 for high school seniors who make a video about how science has saved or improved them or someone they know.

Research Focus

The speaker discusses their research on great apes and humans and explains the split between humans and chimpanzees/bonobos.

Great Apes Research

• The speaker's research focuses on the split between humans and chimpanzees/bonobos.

• Orangutans split off first around 16 million years ago, followed by gorillas around 6-8 million years ago.

• Humans split from chimpanzees and bonobos around 5-6 million years ago.

The Challenge of Selling Evolution to Students

In this section, the speaker discusses the challenge of selling evolution to students who may be religious and how Darwin faced a similar challenge in his time.

Humans as Part of the Evolutionary Process

• Humans are part of the same evolutionary process as chimpanzees and bonobos.

• Despite being different species, humans and other animals share similarities in their ways of thinking and behaving.

• However, humans have created technological advancements, languages, and social institutions that set them apart from other animals.

Collective Products of Culture

• The speaker argues that none of these advancements were invented by single individuals but rather are collective products of culture.

• Humans pool their cognitive resources, learn from others, cooperate with others, and communicate with others to create these advancements.

Cumulative Cultural Evolution

• The speaker proposes that humans have cumulative cultural evolution or the ratchet effect where one invention builds upon another.

• For example, humans started using rocks as hammers but then someone tied a hammer onto a stick which was more powerful. This invention was then learned by everyone else in the group.

The Evolution of Human Collaboration

In this section, the speaker discusses how humans have evolved to become ultra-cooperative and how this has led to significant advances in human culture and inventions.

Humans as Collaborators

• Humans have made significant advances in culture and inventions through a process of cumulative cultural evolution.

• Early humans started collaborating to get their food, which led to joint intentionality where individuals work together towards a common goal.

• There was social selection for good collaborators, leading to the evolution of highly cooperative modern-day hunter-gatherers who share food and are egalitarian.

The Dark Side of Cooperation

• While humans are highly cooperative within groups, there is ugliness between groups that can lead to conflict and harm.

• In the modern world, it's not always clear where groups begin and end, making life complicated.

The Importance of Teaching

In this section, the speaker discusses how teaching is an essential part of human collaboration and how it has contributed significantly to human progress.

Teaching as Collaboration

• Teaching is a form of collaboration where one person shares knowledge with others who then build on that knowledge.

• This process allows for the accumulation of knowledge over time, leading to significant advancements in human culture and technology.

The Benefits of Teaching

• Teaching allows for more efficient learning since individuals don't have to reinvent the wheel but can build on existing knowledge.

• It also leads to better communication skills since teachers must be able to convey information effectively.

The Evolution of Language

In this section, the speaker discusses how language has evolved to become a critical part of human collaboration and how it has contributed significantly to human progress.

The Emergence of Language

• Language emerged as a way for humans to communicate more effectively and collaborate better.

• It allowed for the sharing of knowledge and ideas, leading to significant advancements in human culture and technology.

The Benefits of Language

• Language allows for more efficient communication, which is essential for effective collaboration.

• It also allows for the sharing of complex ideas that would be difficult or impossible to convey without language.

The Nine-Month Revolution

In this section, the speaker discusses how human children start collaborating with others in new ways at nine months of age and are able to interact with others in a group-like manner by three years of age.

Collaboration

• Human infants as young as nine months old engage in collaborative games with others.

• Joint attention is important during collaboration, where infants monitor the attention of their partner.

Communication

• Human babies communicate not just when they want something but also for sharing experiences.

• Sharing experiences is a significant part of human experience that other animals do not have.

Joint Attention

• Joint attention is demonstrated through classic book reading, where the child checks back with the parent to ensure shared attention.

• Acting together collaboratively and communicating and sharing experience together is indicative of how humans relate to one another.

Comparison between Humans and Chimpanzees

In this section, the speaker compares human children's behavior to chimpanzees' behavior using toys.

Lack of Sharing

• A chimpanzee does not share or initiate interaction while playing with toys compared to a human child.

Introduction

In this section, the speaker introduces the concept of shared intentionality and how it is unique to humans.

Shared Intentionality

• At nine months of age, humans exhibit uniquely human forms of cooperative social engagement.

• Humans are ultra-cooperative and have a joint goal when engaging in activities with others.

• Shared intentionality operates on two levels: joint attention and perspective-taking.

• Humans have a high level of flexibility in their perspectives due to shared intentionality.

Domains of Interaction

In this section, the speaker discusses several domains of interaction that demonstrate the uniqueness of human shared intentionality.

Communication

• Gestural communication in great apes is intentional and deliberate but dyadic (between two individuals).

Joint Attention

• Joint attention is fundamental to human cognition and involves sharing experiences with others.

• Joint attention allows for perspective-taking and understanding different roles in cooperative activities.

Social Learning

• Social learning involves observing others' actions and using them as a guide for one's own behavior.

• Humans have a unique ability to learn from others through imitation, emulation, and instruction.

Cultural Learning

• Cultural learning involves acquiring knowledge from others within one's cultural group.

• Humans have a unique capacity for cumulative cultural evolution due to their ability to transmit knowledge across generations.

Conclusion

In this section, the speaker concludes by summarizing the unique aspects of human shared intentionality and its importance in human evolution.

Summary

• Shared intentionality is a uniquely human trait that involves joint attention and perspective-taking.

• Humans exhibit ultra-cooperative behavior in various domains of interaction, including communication, joint attention, social learning, and cultural learning.

• The ability to share intentional states with others has played a crucial role in the evolution of human cognition.

Final Thoughts

• Understanding shared intentionality can help us better understand what makes humans unique and how we have evolved as a species.

Uniquely Human Communication and Language

This section discusses the basis of uniquely human communication and language, which is sharing attention to some third entity. Language is all about sharing experience, and it depends on knowing that we're sharing attention.

The Basis of Language

• Language is You and Me sharing attention to some third entity.

• The apes are not doing this; they're just regulating their interactions.

• Sharing is the basis of language.

• Children develop this by pointing as a first step.

Motivation to Collaborate

• Collaboration is motivated by sharing.

• An experiment shows an 18-month-old child collaborating with an adult who's being difficult on purpose.

• The child keeps collaborating in order to play the game.

• Annette, a chimp raised by humans, solves a problem-solving apparatus but doesn't understand roles yet.

Impressive Collaboration

• Chimps collaborate impressively in experiments where they have to pull together or unlock cages for each other.

• They understand that collaboration is necessary when there's a partner involved.

Why Haven't Chimps Evolved to Collaborate More?

This section explores why chimps haven't evolved to collaborate more despite its power.

Food Sharing Experiment

• A food-sharing experiment shows that chimps can work together when food is in the middle and they can still help each other like humans would.

• The dominant chimp knows she's dominant, and the subordinate one knows she's subordinate.

Collaborative Behavior in Humans and Apes

This section discusses the differences between collaborative behavior in humans and apes, focusing on sharing and teaching.

Cooperative Behavior in Children

• German children were given four gummy bears to share equally. They divided them fairly, unlike chimpanzees who take all the food.

• Children have mechanisms for sharing spoils of collaboration that apes lack.

• Almost all three-year-old children divided resources equally, showing they understand fairness.

Teaching as a Unique Human Trait

• Teaching is mainly a uniquely human trait; it involves passing information across generations.

• Adults teach children how to do things, and children conform to adult behavior even when it's not necessary.

• Chimpanzees only do what is smartest, while children will copy adults even if it involves doing something dumb.

Introduction

The speaker introduces the topic of cooperation and culture in humans and how it differs from other great apes.

Cooperative Thinking

• Science is cooperative, and no one does science alone.

• Cooperative thinking is observed every day in classrooms where students give ideas, criticize them, and end up with a solution that none of them would have come up with alone.

Social Norms

• Children learn social norms early on, which includes conforming to rules.

• A video shows a child playing a game according to the rules until another puppet comes in and plays it differently. The child then comments on the wrong way of playing.

Physiological Differences Between Apes and Humans

The speaker discusses physiological differences between apes and humans related to cooperation.

White Sclera

• All primates except for humans have eyes that do not show white sclera when looking straight ahead.

• Humans evolved prominent white sclera that make it easier for others to follow their gaze direction.

Importance of Following Gaze Direction

• It is advantageous for someone in a group to know where others are looking as it helps anticipate actions or identify predators.

• Humans evolved large white sclera so that others can easily follow their gaze direction during collaborative activities.

Human Children's Adaptation for Cooperation and Culture

The speaker concludes by discussing how human children are adapted for cooperation and culture in ways that other great apes are not.

Cultural Learning

• Most knowledge and skills children possess are learned from others through cultural transmission.

Importance of Culture

• A child who grew up on a desert island would have cognitive and social skills similar to those of other great apes as they did not have access to cultural learning.

• Culture is essential for the development of human cognitive and social skills.

The Evolution of Humans

In this section, Dr. Tomasello discusses how humans are adapted for cooperation and culture in ways that other species are not. He explains that these adaptations are fundamental to uniquely human processes of cognition, communication, cooperation, and morality.

Human Adaptations for Cooperation and Culture

• Humans are adapted for cooperation and culture in ways that other species are not.

• These adaptations are fundamental to uniquely human processes of cognition, communication, cooperation, and morality.

Symbiosis Between Unrelated Species

• Symbiosis is a concept that characterizes how humans have become symbiotic with one another.

• Although symbiosis is almost always between species in biology, it's the same general idea as interdependence within a species.

Collaborative Hunting Among Animals

• Collaborative hunting among animals like lions and sharks works because the carcass is large enough that everybody gets some.

• To go beyond what animals like lions and sharks do when collaborating on hunting requires finding a way to share food equitably.

Chimp Experiment

In this section, Dr. Tomasello answers questions about his chimp experiment where he tested their ability to collaborate on tasks. He also discusses how chimps compare to bonobos and children in terms of collaboration.

Chimps' Ability to Collaborate

• When chimps collaborate on tasks involving food sharing, they still struggle with sharing equitably even if they have equal status.

• Bonobos perform better than chimpanzees at sharing but still not at the level of children.

Comparison to Bonobos and Children

• Dr. Tomasello's colleague, Brian Hare, conducted the same experiment with bonobos and found that they were better at sharing than chimpanzees.

• In a separate experiment, children were able to share equitably even when one child received more than the other.

Dogs and Pointing

In this section, the speaker discusses how dogs are able to understand pointing gestures from humans, but not from other dogs. The ability of dogs to follow human pointing is a result of domestication and inter-species communication.

Domestication and Selection

• Darwin's theory of domestication as an example of selection by humans instead of natural selection.

• Dogs' ability to follow human pointing is a product of domestication and inter-species communication.

• Dogs do not understand pointing gestures from other dogs.

Cooperative Child Care

• Sarah Hardy's work on cooperative child care in humans across societies.

• Human mothers take care of their infants on average about 50%, while fathers, grandparents, daycare centers or friends help with the rest.

• Cooperative child care provides a cooperative motivation and spirit, but coordination in activities like hunting is necessary for complicated communication and coordination.

Studies on Dog Behavior

• Studies have shown that domestic dogs can follow human gaze and pointing gestures.

• Anecdotal evidence suggests that some dogs can communicate their desires through eye contact or barking.