Language first, then shared intentionality, then a beneficent spiral

Derek Bickerton

doi:10.1017/S0140525X05220125

Abstract

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Tomasello et al. give a good account of how shared intentionality develops in children, but a much weaker one of how it might have evolved. They are unduly hasty in dismissing the emergence of language as a triggering factor. An alternative account is suggested in which language provided the spark, but thereafter language and shared intentionality coevolved.

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Language first, then shared intentionality, then a beneficent spiral

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