It seems to me, Chris, that you are confusing necessary conditions with sufficient conditions. Mirror neurons may be necessary to develop "empathy" like feelings for the minds and senses of others, but they may not be sufficient. Other mental and physical processes are also involved. Empathy like feelings may be necessary to put us on the road to the development of the mind/brain processes that produce language but it is not sufficient. Chimps may display what we would call empathy when displayed by humans but that does not mean they have the other mind/brain capacities to develop language.
Sorry for being pedantic.
By the way I have always been very skeptical of Ramachandran's speculation on language. They are wild and fun and completely unsupported. They are big brain storms. I have listened to a at least 10 lectures by him and numerous interviews and he is as fun as Oliver Sacks essays. But all you have to do is listen to the Reith lectures to hear that he combines great knowledge, an exuberant lecture style with wild speculation. I think the importance of mirror neurons is undeniable but since their discovery they have become the basis of all kinds of happy, creative and unsupported speculation.
For the Ramachandran's Reith lectures look at BBC Radio 4 -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2003/lecturer.shtml
For wild speculation on mirror neurons see the following podcasts
Jun 29, 2007 Eye of the Beholder Vittorio Gallese The scientist who discovered mirror neurons engages in a roundtable discussion with artists and art historians about how neuroscientific discoveries can influence our understanding of how we perceive art. Sponsor: Philoctetes Center title= listen (14.7 MB) | running time 01:04:06 http://media.nyas.org/content/podcasts/snc/eye.mp3
Aug 24, 2007 Acting and Mirror Neurons Vittorio Gallese and others A discussion drawing on the perspectives of neuroscience, drama therapy, kinesiology, and acting technique to address the mechanisms that allow an actor to emotionally move an audience. Sponsor: Philoctetes Center title= listen (15.4 MB) | running time 00:33:24 http://media.podcastingmanager.com/72172-80591/Media/neurons.mp3
http://www.nyas.org/snc/podcasts.asp?PartnerCD=iTunes&TrackCD=pcast
http://www.nyas.org/podcasts/nyaspodcast.xml
On 9/1/07, Chris Doss <lookoverhere1 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> If these mirror neurons are supposed to enable both
> language and empathy, then why do many animals,
> lacking language, exhibit apparent empathy?
>
> They also learn by watching other animals, without
> these magic neurons.
>
>
>
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-- Jerry Monaco's Philosophy, Politics, Culture Weblog is Shandean Postscripts to Politics, Philosophy, and Culture http://monacojerry.livejournal.com/
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