Gary M. et al.,
It’s apparently true that “A child absolutely left on its own will never have
language beyond Umberto Eco's "Latratus canis". But it’s not necessarily true
that “It is someone already knowledgeable in communicative human language that
must teach them.” Children who interact mainly with other children their own
age have been known to develop their own languages ‘from scratch’ with no
instruction from adults -- languages sufficient to enable them to communicate
(with each other) and reason at a high level. This sometimes happens with twins
in spite of their parents’ efforts to teach them the language of the home.
The origin of language is a very deep and still controversial question, but I
think recent research has emphasized the evolutionary continuity between human
mentality (including communication and reasoning) and the mentality of other
animals. One book I’d recommend on this is The Origins of Meaning (Language in
the Light of Evolution) by James R. Hurford (2007). It’s one of Stjernfelt’s
sources in his new book, and it brings together logic, linguistics, psychology
and evolutionary biology in a remarkable way that strikes me as quite Peircean
although he doesn’t mention Peirce. (Sorry, folks, there’s that word again … )
gary f.
} Tiger got to hunt, Bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder, Why, why, why?
Tiger got to sleep, Bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand.
[The Books of Bokonon (Vonnegut)] {
<http://www.gnusystems.ca/gnoxic.htm> www.gnusystems.ca/gnoxic.htm }{ gnoxics
From: Gary Moore [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 4-Jun-14 6:12 AM
To: John Collier; Edwina Taborsky; Søren Brier; [email protected]
Subject: Re: SV: SV: Re: RE: [PEIRCE-L] Realworld solutions to realworld
problems
If you could not see, could you reason? Yes - but - with much greater
difficulty because the whole apparatus of education is based upon being able to
see. This is one of the reasons why the Classical Greek word "to know" also
means "to see".
<http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=%5B&la=greek&can=%5B0> [980
<http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=a&la=greek&can=a0&prior=%5b> α
<http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=%5D&la=greek&can=%5D0&prior=a> ]
<http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=%5B&la=greek&can=%5B1&prior=%5d>
[21
<http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=%5D&la=greek&can=%5D1&prior=%5b> ]
<http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=pa%2Fntes&la=greek&can=pa%2Fntes0&prior=%5d>
πάντες
<http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=a%29%2Fnqrwpoi&la=greek&can=a%29%2Fnqrwpoi0&prior=pa/ntes>
ἄνθρωποι
<http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=tou%3D&la=greek&can=tou%3D0&prior=a)/nqrwpoi>
τοῦ
<http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=ei%29de%2Fnai&la=greek&can=ei%29de%2Fnai0&prior=tou=>
εἰδέναι
<http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=o%29re%2Fgontai&la=greek&can=o%29re%2Fgontai0&prior=ei)de/nai>
ὀρέγονται
<http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=fu%2Fsei&la=greek&can=fu%2Fsei0&prior=o)re/gontai>
φύσει."All men by nature desire to know/see." Ergo, in initial 'practical'
practice on all occasions knowledge begins with seeing. With blind people, it
begins with the teacher being able to see. An exactly similar situation exists
with language. A child absolutely left on its own will never have language
beyond Umberto Eco's "Latratus canis". It is someone already knowledgeable in
communicative human language that must teach them. All human education is
inherited. Ergo there is always the first question disposing the whole nature
and mystery of language, "How and why did language at all, as communicative
beyond the barking of a dog, occur?"
-x-
In going beyond "latratus canis", perception does become involved with signs,
but this is a learned activity and integration, not the pure physiology of
visual perception which must temporally and causally come first.
Physiologically, then, can perception be a system of signs? Or, are you saying
"reason" is a physiological human attribute?
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