Human Uniqueness, Bodily Mimesis and the Evolution of Language
نویسنده
چکیده
I argue that an evolutionary adaptation for bodily mimesis, the volitional use of the body as a representational devise, is the “small difference” that gave rise to unique and yet pre-linguistic features of humanity such as (over)imitation, pedagogy, intentional communication and the possibility of a cumulative, representational culture. Furthermore, it is this that made the evolution of language possible. In support for the thesis that speech evolved atop bodily mimesis and a transitional multimodal protolanguage, I review evidence for the extensive presence of sound-symbolism in modern languages, for its psychological reality in adults, and for its contribution to language acquisition in children. On a meta-level, the argument is that dividing human cognitivesemiotic evolution into a sequence of stages is crucial for resolving classical dichotomies concerning human nature and language, which are both natural and cultural, both continuous with and discontinuous from those of (other) animals.
منابع مشابه
From proto-mimesis to language: evidence from primatology and social neuroscience.
How can we reconcile the conception of language as a conventional-normative semiotic system with a perception/action-based account of its structure and meaning? And why should linguistic meaning--as opposed to linguistic expression--be so closely related to motor activity and its neural underpinnings, as suggested by recent findings? A conceptual framework and evolutionary scenario building on ...
متن کاملWhat’s in a schema? Bodily mimesis and the grounding of language
The chapter defines mimetic schemas as dynamic, concrete and preverbal representations, involving the body image, which are accessible to consciousness, and pre-reflectively shared in a community. Mimetic schemas derive from a uniquely human capacity for bodily mimesis (Donald 1991; Zlatev, Persson and Gärdenfors 2005) and are argued to play a key role in language acquisition, language evolutio...
متن کاملEmbodiment , Language , and Mimesis
The present focus on embodiment in cognitive science undervalues concepts such as convention/norm, representation and consciousness. I argue that these concepts constitute essential properties of language, and this makes it problematic for “embodiment theories” to account for human language and cognition. These difficulties are illustrated by examining a particular, highly influential approach ...
متن کاملRelation between Pleasure and Beauty In Khaji Nasir’s View
Relation between pleasure and Beauty is one of the most durable rations in Art philosophy and esthetic arguments. Philosophers’ Historical thoughts, from Plato and Aristotle to Kant, Croce and Heidegger, are the solid reasoning in this claim. Muslim thinkers got some basics from Greek wisdom (Hikmat) in translation movement, and by creative thoughts and critic mind and with being affected by ...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
دوره شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2014