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The basic components of communication are now widely recognized --
signaler, signal, and receiver. To confirm that communication has
occurred, it is thus necessary to show that one individual has produced a
signal -- a pattern of stimulation -- to which another individual has
responded. Experimental investigation of this process began with the use
of simple models by early ethologists such as Niko Tinbergen (1951). In
recent decades presentations of audio and video recordings and even
robotic models have resulted in extensive experimental analysis of
communication by animals.
Yet Darwin's principal claim remains controversial. Is there continuity
between mental processes of humans and those of other animals? Even if
the differences prove to be qualitative, can we measure the magnitude of
the differences? As Darwin recognized, one of the central issues in these
controversies is communication. What do animals communicate? And how
much do they communicate? These questions are often phrased
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in terms of information. What information is communicated by animals?
And how much?
This chapter addresses these questions in four steps. First, it reviews
the concept of information in communication and thereby concludes that all
communication must involve a transmission of information. Second, it
considers, but rejects, the argument that information and manipulation are
incompatible. Third, it argues that the transfer of information depends
on mental processes of categorization and association. Fourth, it
addresses the issue of information about mental states of other
individuals and ourselves. It concludes with an element of necessary
ignorance ...
To summarize, this discussion has led to three conclusions. (1)
Communication consists of transmission of information from one individual
to another. (2) If mind is behaviour, then all organisms communicate
states of mind. (3) If it is not, then no communication transmits states
of mind.
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