FWD: Re: J. O'Connor on Chomsky

[Charles Brown]

Anthropologist Leslie A. White said
you can't explain a variable by a constant.
Human nature is a constant throughout
the species, so the DIFFERENCES within
the species are not explained by
human nature. So, in Doug's example
the general capacity for language that
is constant (universal) does not explain
the differences between different languages.
But this doesn't mean there is no 
unique human nature. No other species
has the natural capacity for language
equivalent to the human capacity.

Charles Brown


>>> Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> 11/05 2:08 PM >>>
C. G. Estabrook wrote:


>And over against the PoMo pooh-pooh of any talk of human nature

Many Marxists have also objected to talk of "human nature." Does that make
them PoMo's too?

Besides, pointing to an innate capacity for language in humans doesn't tell
you anything about what languages we actually come to speak, or what we say
when we talk.

Doug