More Denton: A new book; language (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, March 23, 2016, 15:08 (3167 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: Adler believed that human consciousness and intellect did not fit the gradual descent seen in evolution but was a giant leap making humans different in kind. He did not debate the origin of humans as evolved organisms other than that single point.-> dhw: I understand why you are so desperate to use this “difference in kind” to bolster your interpretation of God's evolutionary intentions and methods, but if this is as far as Adler went, he is irrelevant to our discussions on the subject. YOU believe man is so special that God preprogrammed/personally oversaw the whole of evolution (so far) for the sake of humans. If Adler didn't, then we can forget about Adler.-You may want to dismiss Adler. I can't. His book dates to the 1960's. His Darwin description is straightforward early Neo-Darwinism, never related to God. It is entirely a philosophic discussion. It starts with a definition of what different in kind means! It has an index of the philosophers and others whose thoughts he analyzes. The development of language plays a large role in his thinking. It is 300 pages of dense prose. Its importance to some thinkers is shown by the fact it has been constantly reprinted. My copy is a fourth printing, 1998.-> DAVID: No, I fully understand your position on the painful picket fence, and your painfully contrived theories which you use to protect your position. 
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> dhw: No, my painfully contrived theories are alternatives to the painfully contrived theories you have devised to protect your position.-I feel your pain; I have none, only the comfortableness of my conclusions.