Language and morality : evolution, altruism, and linguistic moral mechanisms
This thesis inquires into how human language relates to morality â and shows the ways language enables, extends, and maintains human value systems. Though we ultimately need to view the relation between language and morality from many different perspectives â biological, psychological, sociological, and philosophical â the approach here is primarily a linguistic one informed by evolutionary theory. At first, this study shows how natural selection relates to the problem of altruism and how language serves human moral ontogeny. Subsequently, the argument demonstrates how language helps enable cultural group selection. Moreover, as language helps influence human behaviour in an altruistic direction beyond in-group non-kin (helping facilitate cultural group selection), we also consider how language can help facilitate altruistic behaviour towards out-group non-kin. This therefore raises the prospect of a limited moral realism in a world of evolutionary processes. With these issues and possibilities in mind, we consider and analyze the properties of language that help extend human morality. Specifically, discussion covers how recursion, linguistic creativity, naming ability, displacement, stimulus freedom,
Poulshock, Joseph W.
Language and morality : evolution, altruism, and linguistic moral mechanisms. This thesis inquires into how human language relates to morality â and shows the ways language enables, extends, and maintains human value systems. Though we ultimately need to view the relation between language and morality from many different perspectives â biological, psychological, sociological, and philosophical â the approach here is primarily a linguistic one informed by evolutionary theory. At first, this study shows how natural selection relates to the problem of altruism and how language serves human moral ontogeny. Subsequently, the argument demonstrates how language helps enable cultural group selection. Moreover, as language helps influence human behaviour in an altruistic direction beyond in-group non-kin (helping facilitate cultural group selection), we also consider how language can help facilitate altruistic behaviour towards out-group non-kin. This therefore raises the prospect of a limited moral realism in a world of evolutionary processes. With these issues and possibilities in mind, we consider and analyze the properties of language that help extend human morality. Specifically, discussion covers how recursion, linguistic creativity, naming ability, displacement, stimulus freedom,
language morality evolution linguistic moral mechanism human_language relate morality show_way language enables extends maintain human value system though ultimately need view relation language morality many_different perspective biological psychological sociological philosophical primarily linguistic inform evolutionary_theory first study_show natural_selection relate problem language serve human moral ontogeny subsequently argument demonstrate language help enable cultural group selection moreover language help influence human_behaviour altruistic direction beyond group non kin help facilitate cultural group selection also_consider language help facilitate altruistic behaviour towards out group non kin therefore raise prospect limited moral_realism world evolutionary_process issue possibility mind consider analyze property language help extend human morality specifically discussion cover linguistic creativity name ability displacement stimulus freedom