The Naming Ape
INTRODUCTION:
The idea to be explored here in the
entries which will for the time being be connected under the title
(perhaps too cutely) The Naming Ape, is that Humans are simply
animals fundamentally indistinguishable from other animals. In this
regard one of the things which does distinguish humans in our use of
language, and specifically how we filter our experiences through
language and naming living more within out conceptualizations than
the actual world we inhabit. This for the time being raises three
prime questions in my mind, many more no doubt to be added as I go.
Firstly how did we develop our systems of naming and how does it
influence and effect our experience of the world? Secondly how do
animals experience the world around them without the mitigation of
language and conceptualization? Thirdly how might we understand those
aspects of the world which we currently comprehend in a
conceptualized fashion free of these concepts and filters? These are
all complex questions which no doubt draw on various areas of study
which are outside of my expertise, historical, anthropological,
neurological, and I will attempt to address them as best I can, but
it is of course also important to identify and accept the limitations
inherent in any project.
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