From Cacophony to Symphony: The Harmonious Interplay of Animal Cognition and Communication with Dr. Tecumseh Fitch

The PrimateCast

In today’s installment of the podcast, I’m really excited to share a fascinating conversation I had with Dr. Tecumseh Fitch about the evolution of cognition and communication.
Tecumseh Fitch is Professor of Cognitive Biology at the University of Vienna where he co-founded the Department of Cognitive Biology and plays a leading role in the radically interdisciplinary Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, where they gather biologists, psychologists, neuroscientists, and computer scientists, and mix them with linguists, philosophers and musicologists to really understand cognition and communication in its broadest sense.
But more than that, Tecumseh Fitch is an icon in the fields of cognitive biology and language evolution - he literally wrote the textbook on the The Evolution of Language. His mastery of these topics are on full display in this conversation, as are his storytelling skills.
“one way of seeing cognitive science is it’s the triumph of mentalism over behaviorism” (Tecumseh Fitch)

We ended up with a rich tapestry of insights into how language and cognition evolved, how they shape the lives of animals across the spectrum - from bees to naked mole rats to chimpanzees - and how they’ve set the scene for our own human experience.
So, if you want to hear us meander from American Civil War generals to the question of why dogs can’t dance, or find out why macaques could anatomically ask questions like “will you marry me” but to my knowledge are not known to have ever done so, then stick around for the next hour plus and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
Other topics in this interview include:

• call production (vocal) learning
• Hoover the Talking Seal
• the evolution of musicality, singing and rhythmicity
• great ape language projects
• AI and animal communication
• On Darwin and why it has taken so long to accept the idea of animal minds
• General William Tecumseh Sherman and Tecumseh Sherman Fitch I

I always learn a lot through the conversations I have for The PrimateCast, but I gotta say that this one had me cognitively locked in. I hope it does the same for you.
Related episodes:

• (#72) A conversation about what music means to us, and monkeys, with Dr. Charles (Chuck) Snowdon
• (#23) Conversations about Communication from the 74th Annual Congress of the Japan Society for Animal Psychology.

The PrimateCast is hosted and produced by Andrew MacIntosh. Artwork by Chris Martin. Music by Andre Goncalves. Credits by Kasia Majewski.

• Connect with us on Facebook or Twitter
• Subscribe where you get your podcasts
• Email [e-mail] with thoughts and comments

Consider sending us an email or reaching out on social media to give us your thoughts on this and any other interview in the series. We're always happy to hear from you and hope to continue improving our podcast format based on your comments and suggestions.

A podcast from Kyoto University and CICASP.