Lamarckian language

mortongr@flash.net
Fri, 08 Oct 1999 18:43:40 +0000

At 07:48 AM 10/08/1999 -0400, George Murphy wrote:
> 3) Going beyond that a bit - the phenomenon of intelligence introduces a
>Lamarckian aspect to evolution because education means that _cultural_
evolution does
>have precisely the character of "transmission of acquired characters."
Whether that
>means an actual increase in intelligence is another matter: Undergrads
today can learn
>general relativity but that doesn't mean they're intrinsically smarter
than Galileo or
>Newton, or even Aristotle.

I am fascinated by this observation and I think you are correct. Cultural
evolution is Lamarckian. So is the evolution of language. When I was
learning the english language as a toddler, the word 'internet' was nowhere
to be found. I have successfully passed this acquired trait on to my
children. Another view of language is what I heard an anthropologist once
say. Language is like a parasitic virus that has infected our brains and
evolves along its own path. And indeed random mutations to the
pronounciation can separate two dialects into two languages in about 1000
years.
glenn

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