From Proto-Conversation to Modern Conversation: The Role of Human Self-Domestication

In this talk, we propose an account of the evolution of language that builds on the hypothesis of human self-domestication (HSD), arguing that the evolution of one of the hallmarks of communication, i.e., conversational abilities, is strongly linked to the reduction of reactive aggression, one of the characteristic features and one of the triggering factors of HSD. Our argument rests on two steps: to argue in favor of a continuity of animal proto-conversation (PC) with modern human conversation; to show that the analysis of how PC of human infants develop into sophisticated conversational skills, in part from changes in the management of aggression/emotions, can shed light on how full-fledged conversational abilities emerged from PC in modern humans under HSD forces. Overall, we argue for a gradual transition from PC to full-fledged conversation under the gradual increase of HSD features in our species.