In a groundbreaking study published in 2022, researchers have proposed a new theory to explain how language and cooperation evolved in humans. This discovery could revolutionize our understanding of human behavior and provide new insights into how we work together.

According to the paper, which contributes to two long-standing debates about language evolution and the foundations of human collaboration, the evolution of complex traits cannot be a direct result of group selection. However, the researchers suggest that both language and cooperation evolved in a unique two-level evolutionary system triggered by a well-documented geological event—the drying out of the climate—in East Africa.

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This drying out of the climate reduced the intermating between groups, which made it possible that the mechanism that produced differences between groups could be the target of natural selection on the group level. The researchers propose that in this situation, a backchannel between the two levels of selection naturally evolved, allowing the selection on the higher level to inform the selection on the lower level.

The study suggests that in this situation, a backchannel between the two levels of selection naturally evolves. Examples of systems utilizing a backchannel are nerve cells being better nourished when used more frequently, enabling them to be conducive to the survival of the whole organism, or a law firm in which all employees get paid to the extent that they contribute to the survival and success of the firm.

This study illuminates the rather opaque claims to which the reader probably has many objections in this abridged form. The findings provide a new perspective on the evolution of complex traits in humans, particularly in the context of language and cooperation.

The researchers believe that their work could have far-reaching implications for our understanding of human behavior and could pave the way for new research into the mechanisms behind language evolution and human collaboration.

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