"
A different alternative to the hypothesis that language is an adaptation is thepossibility that it evolved by mechanisms other than natural selection (a hypothesis associated with Stephen Jay Gould and Noam Chomsky (Chomsky
1988; Gould 1997; see Piatelli-Palmarini 1989 and Pinker and Bloom 1990
for discussion).
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On this view, language may have evolved all at once as the
product of a macro-mutation.[...]
Or it may
have arisen as a by-product of some other evolutionary development
==================================================================
"
http://pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/articles/papers/Language_Evolution.pdf
Now My personal opinion is the following:
1. ==> IF in Humans, ONLY 2 changes of the FOXP2 GENE really trigerred the human language apparition (as we know it today) by activating an unknown number of related Genes
2. ========> THEN IN THIS CASE : THE LANGUAGE APPEARED 'all at once' as an already "existed defined product" (--> a VOCAL-LEARNING ARTIFACT) ONLY activated by the 2 Macro-Mutations Above (this can triggered also some positive selection on an additional used genes, but this cannot put in question the existance of the 'product' -> this only made 'the product customization')
3. ========> I DON"T SEE 2. IN CONTRADICTION with the fact that the "human language is an adaptation" (contradiction postulated by the above author)
3.a BECAUSE THE NEED TO TRIGGER --> a VOCAL-LEARNING ARTIFACT == WAS DUE ==>>>> TO A MAJOR HUMAN NEED AT THAT TIME ==> THIS MAJOR NEED trigerred a significant acceleration and positive selection in human FOXP2 (and I will add, in a non-darwinian way, it seems that 'from time to time' the QUESTION WAS RAISED BY THE "GENETIC PROGRAM" :
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DO YOU NEED, AT THIS TIME, A VOCAL-LEARNING ARTIFACT?
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-- the above question was implemented related to Humans by the fact that in the FOXP2 gene, one or two MAJOR Mutations (in axon 7), were trigerred in one or more individs at one moment.....
In addition, even is a non-darwinian way to think, I'm sure that: THESE MUTATIONS (representing in fact teh above question) ARE TRIGERRED BY INTENTION AND NOT BY ACCIDENT.......by the same Genetic Program....
3.b - after the question is raised --> the 'darwinian selection' ONLY answer YES or NO (or with some nuances) to the TRIGERRED QUESTION....
- in that case the ANSWER WAS YES:
-----------------------------------------------------------
THE HUMANS NEEDED, AT THAT TIME, A VOCAL-LEARNING ARTIFACT
-----------------------------------------------------------
-- the above answer was implemented by the fact that 'there were a significant acceleration and positive selection in human FOXP2'--> THE SAME 2 CHANGED VALUES WERE PROPAGATED AND FIXED IN ALL HUMANS, WITH NO VARIATION, IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME
3.c ONCE AGAIN NONE OF THE ABOVE PROCESSSES ARE IN CONTRADICTION WITH THE FACTS THAT :
- 'the Vocal-Learning Design of the Artifact were already there'
- and 'for sure it was customized based on secondary Questions and Answers as the above ones"
3.d The LAST QUESTION THAT I CANNOT ANSWER IS THE FOLLOWING:
WHAT HUMAN NEED TRIGERRED THE NEED OF A VOCAL-LEARNING ARTIFACT?
FOR THE Echolocating-BATS is clear : THEY NEED TO EAT...AND THEY FIND THEIR PREY BASED ON THIS......
FOR THE SINGING BIRDS WAS IMPORTANT TO REFINE THEY SEXUAL-SELECTION MECHANISMS
FOR THE WHALES AND DOLPHINS THIS WAS DUE TO THE LARGE DISTANCES INSIDE THE OCEANS..... THAT MADE HARD TO MEET EACH OTHERS...WITHOUT A GOOD VOCALISE SYSTEM....
BUT FOR THE FIRST HUMANS?
a) were they isolated in some innacesible landings were they couldn't see each others? huge forests? Rocky mountains? etc....so they really needs to improve their VOCAL ARTIFACT SYSTEM in order to can meeet each other , in order to can hunt together (see that, one of that changes is shared with the CARNIVORES -- this cannot be 'by chance')
So I Think that: The Environment at that stage was one that didn't allow Humans to see each other, and to coordinate very easy each other in the nature.....even their eyes were good enough for this....
And because there are 2 changes maybe we are talking about 2 different NEEDS ....
- ONE NEED WAS FOR SURE RELATED TO THE HUNTING PROCESS BECAUSE IS SHARED WITH THE CARNIVORES......BUT THE OTHER ONE? THE UNIQUE ONE?
to be used for what? inside some Huge forests? or inside some Rocky mountains?
Marius