Ginkgo wrote:
You seem to be saying the following:
(a) There was a time when all humans had a common understanding of the world by way of a common metaphysical language.
(b) Some time in the future there was a period when this metaphysical language contributed to it own demise resulting in the demise of this language.
If both (a) and (b) then you are saying this was an historical event. If so you have some sort of creationist explanation for language.
I don't know what you mean by "creationist". If you mean that I think a "god" created the language then in the modern sense of the word "God" then absolutely not. In the ancient sense of the word "god" then, yes, the language arose through a natural process.
Specifically I believe that virtually all animals and all of creation have language. Species must recognize one another to reproduce if nothing else. This means the animals that became human had a language as well. They looked human by our standard but were not able to pass learning from generation to generation so they lacked what Gee calls an unconscious mind. They lacked all the knowledge and thought that defines the nature of humanity so they lived and acted like animals. They weren't even especially clever animals but they did work stone and control fire.
Then a natural process, a mutation, occurred that gave rise to the ability to mnipulate language extensively. Perhaps it was the second speech center in the brain but whatever it was it allowed an individual to expand on the simple animal language and better communicate with members of his tribe. This adaptation was so successful that it spread like wildfire throughout the human race. Human language gave rise to the ability to cover almost the entire planet and to invent agriculture and cities.
But make no mistake about it. The ancient language had absolutely nothing to do with beliefs and religion and it was the vary basis of their observational science which is the exact same type of science that allowed termites and beavers to invent agriculture and air conditioned cities (each in their way). This science underlies life itself.
When the language collapsed the technology survived because learning could still be passed down but new learning was almost impossible in the absense of metaphysics. It was not until the invention of modern scientific metaphysics that human progress resumed. Keep in mind though that modern progress occurs primarily in technology and to a lesser extent in theory but relatively little occurs in application. Half the planet believes in supernatural causation and in very real ways most scientists believe in this as well caused by their inability to see things they don't understand.
We are left to argue semantics and wonder why half the world starves while the other half is unfullfilled. Angst may be something of the human conditiion but it may be greatly exaggerated by language and our inability to undersatand our past and our true natures. If it were possible to make progress in philosophy using our knowledge of scientific theory to underpin it then there might be answers someday to improve the human condition for many people. Ancient learning and knowledge could play a pivotal role in this but it would first need to be redeveloped.
Of course I could be wrong about everything but it strikes me as odd that it's only me who can be wrong and everyone else is using a confused language they don't seem to notice is confused and despite entirely different beliefs they each know they are right.
"A" and "b" are essentially correct. Each person spoke and thought in the same language so would believe the same things which reflcted the premises and axioms of that language as they were applied to nature and learning. As learning was added to the language arithmatically the language became geometrically more complex until it collapsed.
