Symbolism & 7E Cognition

I introduce a 7E Cognition approach to Symbolism, Communication, and Language

Symbolism, communication, and language are traditionally studied from within the symbolic sciences, comprising philosophy, semiotics, the behavioral, cognitive, and communicative sciences, linguistics, sociology, and anthropology. These fields adopt a 4E cognition approach, which recognizes symbolism as embodied in the physical organism, enacted through behavior, embedded in socio-cultural practices, and extended into material artifacts.

While co-editing the Oxford Handbook of Human Symbolic Evolution, I examined how the symbolic sciences thereby do and do not implement the evolutionary epistemologies outlined in the Flower of Evolution.

Ever since, I help expand evolutionary epistemological approaches to symbolism. I thereby define symbolism as evolving, mostly extra-genetically, at a community level, by interacting ensembles of individuals. This adds three more Es to the existing approaches.

The 7E cognition approach I'm developing incorporates Neodarwinian, epigenetic, eco-evo-devo, and reticulate evolution approaches to cognition, allowing for an expansion of symbolic evolution research to encompass all life forms.

A 7E Approach to Language & Communication

I redefine communication and language from within a pluralistic evolutionary worldview.

I define communication as the evolution of physical, biochemical, cellular, community, and technological information exchange. I define language as community communication whereby the information exchanged comprises evolving individual and group-constructed knowledge and beliefs that are enacted, narrated, or otherwise conveyed by evolving rule-governed and meaningful symbol systems that are grounded, interpreted, and used from within evolving embodied, cognitive, ecological, sociocultural, and technological niches.

These definitions emphasize the evolutionary aspects of communication and language, differing from four older paradigms that focus on either the referential or social aspects of language or the informational or semantic aspects of communication.

In contrast to these paradigms, my definitions of communication and language align with a pluralistic evolutionary worldview, one that necessitates the recognition that a multitude of units, levels, mechanisms, and processes are involved in bringing forth communication and language. Communication evolves at multiple levels, including physical, biochemical, cellular, community, and technological levels. Language is merely one form of community communication expressed by humans and their technologies.

Major papers on symbolism, language, and 7E cognition

Human Symbolic Evolution, a 7E Cognition Approach. (2026). Reference Module in Social Sciences, Elsevier.

Referential, Social, Informational, Semantic-Pragmatic, and Evolutionary Approaches to Language and Communication. (2025). Reference Module in Social Sciences, Elsevier.

Defining Communication and Language from Within a Pluralistic Evolutionary Worldview. (2022). Topoi 41 (3): 609-622.

What are the units of language evolution? (2018). Topoi, 37(2), 235-253

What are the levels and mechanisms/processes of language evolution? (2017). Language Sciences 63: 12-43.

Pointing and the Evolution of Language: An Applied Evolutionary Epistemological Approach. (2013). Humana Mente, Journal of Philosophical Studies 24: 1-26.

Selectionist Approaches in Evolutionary Linguistics: An Epistemological Analysis. (2012). International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 26 (1): 67–95.

The origin of the social approach in language and cognitive research exemplified by studies into the origin of language. (2009). In, Pishwa, H. (ed.), Language and Social Cognition: Expressions of the social mind, pp. 25-46. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Commentary papers on language evolution

Pattern similarity in biological, linguistic, and sociocultural evolution. (2018). In Cuskley, C., Flaherty, M., Little, H., McCrohon, L., Ravignani, A. & Verhoef, T. (Eds.): The Evolution of Language: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference (EVOLANGXII).

Placing universal grammar on the agenda of evolutionary linguistics? (2017). Metascience 26, 1: 107–111.

On constructing a research model for historical cognitive linguistics (HCL): Some theoretical considerations. (2010). With Roslyn Frank. In, Winters, M.E., Tissari, H. & Allan, K. Historical Cognitive Linguistics, pp. 31-69. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.

On the Different Applications of Haeckel’s Biogenetic Law In Language Origin and Evolution Studies. (2008). In: Kern, S., Gayraud, F. & Marsico, E. Emergence of Language abilities, pp. 12-29. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing Ltd.

Genes, Brains, and Language: Would Someone Please Pull the Brakes? (2008). Review of General Psychology, 12 (2): 170-180.

An epistemological inquiry into the ‘what is language’ question and the ‘what did language evolve for’ question. (2006). In: Cangelosi, A., Smith, A., & Smith, K. The evolution of language: proceedings of the 6th international conference (EVOLANG 6), pp. 107-114. London: World Scientific.

Pathologies and the origin of language: an epistemological reflection. (2006). Cognitive Systems 7 (1): 35-62.

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