Meaning in great ape communication: Summarising the debate

Scott-Phillips, T.C.

Abstract

Does non-human great ape communication have meaning in the same way as human words (and some other human behaviours)? I recently argued that the answer to this question is most likely to be in the negative (Scott-Phillips in Anim Cogn 18(3):801–805, 2015a). Here, I (1) briefly respond to criticism of this view; (2) describe exactly what sort of empirical study could settle the matter; and (3) discuss what the best working hypotheses should be, in the absence of definitive empirical studies.

Citation

Scott-Phillips, T. (2016). Meaning in great ape communication: Summarising the debate. Animal Cognition, 19(1), 233-238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-015-0936-3

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 30, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Nov 16, 2015
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Nov 4, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 15, 2016
• Journal: Animal Cognition
• Print ISSN: 1435-9448
• Electronic ISSN: 1435-9456
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 233-238
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-015-0936-3
• Keywords: Communication, Meaning, Intentionality, Language, Primates, Pragmatics.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1427489