?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=From+Sensorimotor+Praxis+and+Pantomine+to+Symbolic+Representations&rft.creator=Harnad%2C+Stevan&rft.subject=Evolution&rft.subject=Historical+Linguistics&rft.subject=Psycholinguistics&rft.description=What+lies+on+the+two+sides+of+the+linguistic+divide+is+fairly+clear%3A+On+one+side%2C+you+have+organisms%0A+++++buffeted+about+to+varying+degrees%2C+depending+on+their+degree+of+autonomy+and+plasticity%2C+by+the+states+of+affairs%0A+++++in+the+world+they+live+in.+On+the+other+side%2C+you+have+organisms+capable+of+describing+and+explaining+the+states%0A+++++of+affairs+in+the+world+they+live+in.+Language+is+what+distinguishes+one+side+from+the+other.+How+did+we+get+here%0A+++++from+there%3F+In+principle%2C+one+can+tell+a+seamless+story+about+how+inborn%2C+involuntary+communicative+signals+and%0A+++++voluntary+instrumental+praxis+could+have+been+shaped+gradually%2C+through+feedback+from+their+consequences%2C%0A+++++first+into+analog+pantomime+with+communicative+intent%2C+and+then+into+arbitrary+category+names+combined+into%0A+++++all-powerful%2C+truth-value-bearing+propositions%2C+freed+from+the+iconic+%22shape%22+of+their+referents+and+able+to+tell+all.%0A+++++The+attendant+increase+in+speed+and+scope+in+acquiring+and+sharing+information+can+be+demonstrated+in+simple%0A+++++artificial+life+simulations+that+place+the+old+and+new+means+into+direct+competition%3A+Symbolic+theft+always+beats%0A+++++sensorimotor+toil%2C+and+the+strategy+is+evolutionarily+stable%2C+as+long+as+the+bottom-level+categories+are+grounded+in%0A+++++sensorimotor+toil.&rft.date=2000&rft.type=Conference+Paper&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1619%2F1%2Fharnad00.praxis.htm&rft.identifier=++Harnad%2C+Stevan++(2000)+From+Sensorimotor+Praxis+and+Pantomine+to+Symbolic+Representations.++%5BConference+Paper%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1619%2F