Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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Terrence W. Deacon on Language - Dictionary of Arguments
I 26 Language/DeaconVsTradition: traditional paradigms are e.g. 1. Explanation by association/associative images: according to that, the architecture of the language originates completely outside our organism 2. Mentalese/inner mental language: according to that it is completely within our organism 3. Innate grammatical knowledge >Chomsky. 4. Inner images triggered by sounds >Behaviorism. Nature/nurture/Deacon/(s): this classical question is about what nature has given us and what we have acquired ("nurture" = food). Depending on whether the answer is closer to the end of innate properties (instinctive knowledge), learning is seen as rather superfluous. >Nature versus nurture. DeaconVsChomsky: despite the amazing language learning skills of children, the origin must be sought elsewhere and other questions must be asked. >Language Acquisition. I 53 Language/Deacon: is a derived characteristic (derived from much longer existing animal communication) and should therefore be analysed as an exception to a rule, not vice versa. Cf. >Animals, >Animal language. Animal communication: is usually wrongly treated as "language minus something". I 54 In fact, language is a dependent stepchild of much richer communication, which also includes gestures, showing, tone of voice, interaction with objects, and so on. >Pointing, >Gestures, >Speaking, >Listening. It is not the case that language has replaced other forms of communication. Rather, it has developed in parallel. >Communication. I 309 Language/Brain/Deacon: Lateralisation (lateralisation, division of tasks between the right and left hemisphere of the brain) is almost certainly an effect and not a cause within the co-evolution of language and brain. I even believe that it is an effect in the language evolution of individuals. This involves a division of tasks,... I 310 ...so that they can be processed more easily in parallel. >Brain/Deacon. I 311 Children with only one cerebral hemisphere can learn all aspects of the language. (Plasticity of the brain) If we want to understand speech processing in the brain, we do not have to investigate so much the individual circumstances that change from individual to individual, but rather what drives individual development._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Dea I T. W. Deacon The Symbolic Species: The Co-evolution of language and the Brain New York 1998 Dea II Terrence W. Deacon Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter New York 2013 |
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Ed. Martin Schulz, access date 2024-04-27