Social Calculus as the Origin of Syntax

Abstract

When examining the evolution of syntax, the question why we would start using syntax in the first place attracts attention. Bickerton (2002) proposed that the syntactic categories of agent, theme and goal were not developed for use in language, but existed as part of a much older phenomenon: social calculus. I have implemented this theory by creating and comparing two groups of agents in a simulated world. One group has a full social calculus, while the other is lacking the ability to categorize. The simulation shows that the two groups differ in both grouping and sharing behaviour. The agents with social calculus are more selective in their social interactions and also more robust as a population. These behavioural differences lead to differences in the ages that agents reach, but those differences are very situation dependent.