
Dr. Egnor explains, “
In his discussion of why only humans have language, science writer Tom Siegfried gets a lot right, but he misses the crucial reason. … Siegfried is right that many non-human animals have the physiological apparatus needed to form words. Yet they have no language. They can make and respond to signs—gestures, grunts and the like. A dog, for example, can respond appropriately to simple words directed at him (“Sit!” “Fetch!”). But all animal communication is symbols, that is, signals that point directly to an object. In this case, the object is a simple expected action the animal is to perform immediately.
What animals cannot do is communicate using abstractions. They cannot use designators,—words employed abstractly as language. For example, a dog can be trained, by reward and punishment, to stay when told, “Stay!” He associates the sound “s-t-a-y” with a behavior and performs the behavior. But he doesn’t know what you mean when you say “Let’s stay a bit longer on the beach,” “He extended his stay in Peru,” or “The judge issued a stay of the eviction order.” Animals can only think concretely. More.
Michael Egnor is a neurosurgeon, professor of Neurological Surgery and Pediatrics and Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Neurological Surgery, Stonybrook School of Medicine
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See also: Why speech is unique to humans
Well, I don’t know about YOUR dog, but MY dog understands what “Do you want to go look in the MAILBOX?” means. He KNOWS it means, “we’re gonna walk all the way to the end of the driveway and smell all dog pee on that post thingie’. He also understands the more general question, “Outside?”, which he answers in a bouncing off the walls, overgrown puppy kinda way. And of course dogs are the only animals that will look where you POINT, having learned that the finger itself is NOT the important piece of information. And from their side, they learn how to do Puppy Eyes, which is not the head-hanging of submission nor the barkly “Yup, yup, yup. Get that dinner bowl down here NOW!”
From the “Why Speech Is Unique To Humans” thread:
Of semi-related note: Most everyone is familiar with the beginning of Genesis where God spoke light into existence:
And as would be a priorily expected on Theistic presuppositions, photons and phonons are found to have a very deep connection:
In fact, engineers have now made sound with a high enough frequency to bend light on a computer chip.
Of related note:
As well, besides a deep connection with energy, sound is also now found to have a very deep, ‘non local’, connection with life itself:
Verse:
Can someone please help me out here:
What is a “material soul”?
I also think that Dr. Egnor would be well suited for a field trip, like Thoreau. Go rent a cabin in the woods near a lake and streams. Go out each and every day, observe, take notes and pictures.
Other animals are not the rubes some humans mistake them to be.