How children pick up a language: new review of Wolfe (Humans)

by dhw, Sunday, October 30, 2016, 12:10 (2734 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: I did not say that animals had a human form of consciousness, but I referred to their “particular forms of consciousness”. I did not say they used “verbiage” but I referred to “languages of their own”. You have agreed that they are all conscious. Are you now trying to tell us that animals do not communicate with one another?

DAVID: I have just described how horses communicate with themselves and with us.

dhw: If you agree that they do, perhaps you will also agree that their form of communication (= their language), advanced or rudimentary, would not exist if consciousness had not appeared.

DAVID: Using your definition of consciousness you are correct.

Thank you. Our starting point was Wolfe’s attempt to single out human self-consciousness and human language as being inexplicable through evolution. I commented that all levels of consciousness are inexplicable through evolution, but human language is not. You told me I had “skipped the issue” because “the advanced language we have is a byproduct of consciousness, and so we would not have language if consciousness had not appeared.” I agree, but have simply pointed out that this applies to all forms of language, not just human.