本課核心的目的在以科學的角度來思考人類行為。許多看似人類的文化、或者是藝術行為，其實是生物與環境交互作用而產生的結果。很多時候我們自以為我們的行為是自由意志決定的，但其實那些行為可能是可以用生物演化的觀點來解釋的。
人類的語言跟音樂行為就是最好的例子。音樂和語言被視為人類特有的演化特徵。目前我們所知的生物社群中，並無其他物種發展出可與人類相比擬的音樂及語言系統。之前多數關於語言的討論，很多都是文化差異的比較，音樂則時常被視為藝術或者被當成社會流行現象來討論。本課程將從生物演化、心理學及神經科學的角度，從達爾文的演化觀點來討論語言與音樂的起源，擁有語言以及音樂能力是如何幫助我們存活。我們也會邀請學生藉由分組討論來深入的思考並體認不同的語言的使用者，各自思考模式有何不同，這些思考模式的不同又是如何反映在日常行為中。我們也會探討大腦是如何理解、分析語言跟音樂，及人類是如何學會語言溝通、欣賞音樂、音樂演奏；課程中並將以最新的大腦造影研究的結果來討論語言及音樂的學習對於大腦發育的影響。我們也會探討語言中的音樂性，以及音樂如何影響我們的情緒。
本課程將以互動方式進行，以科普的方式來介紹目前科學界對人類語言以及音樂行為的研究，期許學生在修習本課程的過程中，能夠對我們的語言以及音樂行為產生科學的觀察，並能藉由演化的角度理解人類的音樂、語言行為的重要性，也因此可以對「身而為人」的意義可以培養出科學的觀點。
The core purpose of this course is to think about human behavior from a scientific perspective. Many seemingly human cultures or artistic behaviors are actually the result of the interaction between biology and the environment. Many times we think that our behaviors are determined by free will, but in fact those behaviors may be explained from the perspective of biological evolution.
Human language and musical behavior are the best examples. Music and language are considered uniquely human evolutionary traits. Currently, no other species in the biological community we know of has developed a music and language system comparable to humans. Most of the previous discussions on language were based on comparisons of cultural differences, while music was often regarded as art or discussed as a popular social phenomenon. This course will discuss the origins of language and music from the perspectives of biological evolution, psychology and neuroscience, and from Darwin's evolutionary perspective, and how having the ability to have language and music helps us survive. We will also invite students to think deeply and understand through group discussions how users of different languages have different thinking modes, and how these differences in thinking modes are reflected in daily behaviors. We will also explore how the brain understands and analyzes language and music, and how humans learn to communicate through language, appreciate music, and perform music. In the course, we will use the results of the latest brain imaging research to discuss the impact of language and music learning on brain development. influence. We also explore the musicality of language and how music affects our moods.
This course will be conducted in an interactive way and introduce the current scientific research on human language and musical behavior in a popular science way. It is expected that students will be able to make scientific observations on our language and musical behavior during the course of studying this course, and Being able to understand the importance of human music and language behaviors from an evolutionary perspective can also lead to a scientific perspective on the meaning of "being human".
1. 丹尼爾．列維廷：迷戀音樂的腦 台北市：大家出版社 2013 （Daniel Levitin : This Is Your Brain
on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, Plume/Penguin, 2007 )
2. 奧力佛．薩克斯：腦袋裝了2000齣歌劇的人 台北市：天下文化 2008 （Oliver Sacks：
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Vintage, 2008)
3. 蔡振家：音樂認知心理學 台北市：國立台灣大學出版中心 2014
4. 蓋伊．多徹: 小心，別踩到我北方的腳！貓頭鷹出版社 2013 Guy Deustch, Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages,
Picador, 2011
5. 妮娜．克勞絲：大腦這樣「聽」，天下文化出版 2022，譯者：李承宗、陸維濃 (Nina Kraus：Of Sound Mind, 2022, MIT Press)
1. Daniel． Daniel Levitin: This Is Your Brain
on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, Plume/Penguin, 2007 )
2. Oliver． Saxophone: The man with 2,000 operas in his head Taipei City: Tianxia Culture 2008 (Oliver Sacks:
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Vintage, 2008)
3. Cai Zhenjia: Cognitive Psychology of Music Taipei: National Taiwan University Publishing Center 2014
4. Guy． Doche: Be careful, don't step on my northern toes! Owl Press 2013 Guy Deustch, Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages,
Picador, 2011
5. Nina． Nina Kraus: Of Sound Mind, 2022, MIT Press
| 評分項目 Grading Method | 配分比例 Grading percentage | 說明 Description |
|---|---|---|
| 課堂參與 Class Participation課堂參與 Class Participation Class Participation Class Participation |
20 | 含出席率與課堂討論 Attendance & In-class discussion |
| 分組報告 Group Presentation分組報告 Group Presentation Group Presentation Group Presentation |
30 | |
| 個人報告 Personal Report個人報告 Personal Report Personal Report Personal Report |
20 | |
| 期末考 Final Exam期末考 Final Exam Final Exam Final Exam |
20 |
