Noam Chomsky: Language and Evolution 

On May 30th, 2017, during a CBMM Research Talk, Noam Chomsky shared insight into his latest book, “Why Only Us: Language and Evolution” (co-authored with Robert C. Berwick) where they discuss the biolinguistic perspective on language, which views language as a particular object of the biological world; the computational efficiency of language as a system of thought and understanding; the tension between Darwin’s idea of gradual change and our contemporary understanding about evolutionary change and language; and evidence from nonhuman animals, in particular vocal learning in songbirds.