Language: 'The Universal and Biologically Specific' Technology
Location
Janet Ayers Academic Center, JAAC 4094
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
23-9-2016 11:00 AM
Description
In his book Lives of a Cell, biologist Lewis Thomas states that language is “the universal and biologically specific activity of human beings” without which “we cannot be human.” If Thomas is considering language in the sense of an inborne ability human beings have developed over millennia, Dr. Monteverde would like to consider language as a technology of sorts, that is, something artificially developed by humans to enhance the quality of our lives. However, like all technologies, massive changes in both mechanism and reach have had and continue to have far reaching consequences for how we interact as social beings. While we are used to thinking of this in terms of the development of such things as the internet and social media, in fact, even the development of different languages, writing and the printing press can be said to have impacted greatly how humans interact socially, both extending the reach of our communication while conversely increasing our isolation as individuals.
Recommended Citation
Monteverde, Maggie, "Language: 'The Universal and Biologically Specific' Technology" (2016). Humanities Symposium. 7.
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium/2016/2016/7
Language: 'The Universal and Biologically Specific' Technology
Janet Ayers Academic Center, JAAC 4094
In his book Lives of a Cell, biologist Lewis Thomas states that language is “the universal and biologically specific activity of human beings” without which “we cannot be human.” If Thomas is considering language in the sense of an inborne ability human beings have developed over millennia, Dr. Monteverde would like to consider language as a technology of sorts, that is, something artificially developed by humans to enhance the quality of our lives. However, like all technologies, massive changes in both mechanism and reach have had and continue to have far reaching consequences for how we interact as social beings. While we are used to thinking of this in terms of the development of such things as the internet and social media, in fact, even the development of different languages, writing and the printing press can be said to have impacted greatly how humans interact socially, both extending the reach of our communication while conversely increasing our isolation as individuals.
Comments
Convocation Credit: Global Citizenship, Leadership, Diversity and the Professions