Tecumseh Fitch no IGC

Tecumseh Fitch no Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC)
12h, 21 de Setembro


Tecumseh Fitch studies the evolution of cognition in animals and man, focusing on the evolution of communication. Originally trained in ethology and evolutionary biology, he applied his graduate training in speech science and neuroscience to understanding the physics and physiology of animal vocal communication. He is interested in all aspects of vocal communication in vertebrates (including alligators, seals, birds and monkeys), especially aspects of vocal production that bear on questions of meaning in animal communication systems, including human language. He is particularly interested in the evolution of language, and has stressed the value of an empirical, comparative approach to this problem, using data from diverse living species to address this peculiarly human characteristic.