Reference, Phases and Individuation: Topics at the Labeling-Interpretive Interface

Elliot Murphy

doi:10.5334/opt.cn

Abstract

Following on from recent work in minimalist syntax and ethology, I explore the implications of assuming that the operation Label is the defining feature of the human computational system. It is shown that labeling is responsible for a number of semantic and cognitive properties of the interpretative systems, a conclusion with direct repercussions for the study of the mind/brain. Finally, it is shown that the emergence of Label limits and directs human referentiality.

Highlights

Following on from recent work in minimalist syntax and ethology, I explore the implications of assuming that the operation Label is the defining feature of the human computational system
Since the emergence of the biolinguistic enterprise in the 1950s and 1960s (Lenneberg 1967), a major concern of linguists has been to uncover the biological basis of what syntacticians deem to be unique to language
The current version of generative syntax, the Minimalist Program, proposes that the human capacity for language is genetically encoded in the computational system of

Summary

Introduction

Following on from recent work in minimalist syntax and ethology, I explore the implications of assuming that the operation Label is the defining feature of the human computational system.

Results

Conclusion