Hail Discordia!
>> Most people don't realize how important language actually is and they
take
>> it for granted.
> I wouldn't be so fast to say this. Most people do understand that
language
> is a major part of our cognitive lives.
I meant that in the same sense Wade did when he said, "the simple fact that
we _do_ actually have the power of speech is a revelation." Most people do
understand that language is important and advantageous for getting around,
as in a particular locale, or even that the basic skills of reading and
writing makes a world of difference. But I'm not sure that many people
would consider language itself to be the best thing before sliced bread.
>>Even when thinking to themselves, thinking in English (or whatever
>> language) seems innate, but how did people think before the onset
>> of the spoken word?
> There are disagreements on this, and there is no real way to test one way
or
> another,but I (and others) belive that prior to the advent of language,
people
> didn't think.
I've never thought of it that way, but it is a sound theory. It might be
true depending on what you mean by people didn't think before language.
They wouldn't have thought to themselves but I don't think that precludes
all cognition and I'd say that cognition is thinking. Animals exercise some
awareness and use judgement--whether that indicates consciousness or not is
another (yet related) matter.
> Furthermore, I feel that inter-cranial communication was developed
> before intra-cranial communication, and that the latter was a result
> of a short-circuit between the questioning and answering part of our
> brains.
Again, that makes sense, but does that mean people used to talk to each
other without ever knowing what they were going to say until they spoke?
Mark
"If you are out to describe the truth,
leave elegance to the tailor."
- Albert Einstein