Abstract
The creative aspect of language use provides a set of phenomena that a science of language must explain. It is the “central fact to which any significant linguistic theory must address itself” and thus “a theory of language that neglects this ‘creative’ aspect is of only marginal interest” (Chomsky 1964: 7–8). Therefore, the form and explanatory depth of linguistic science is restricted in accordance with this aspect of language. In this paper, the implications of the creative aspect of language use for a scientific theory of language will be discussed, noting the possible further implications for a science of the mind. It will be argued that a corollary of the creative aspect of language use is that a science of language can study the mechanisms that make language use possible, but that such a science cannot explain how these mechanisms enter into human action in the form of language use.
Highlights
The creative aspect of language use provides a set of phenomena that a science of language must explain
The main issues that Descartes raised in regard to the creative aspect of language use are: that language use allows for an unbounded expression of thought and is independent of direct stimulus control, yet at the same time it is appropriate to new situations and coherent in new contexts
The argument against externalist theories of language qua fruitful scientific theories that appeals to the creative aspect of language use is as follows: Since language use allows for an unbounded expression of thought and is independent of direct stimulus control but at the same time it is appropriate to new situations and is coherent in new contexts, a fruitful externalist scientific theory of language use is unlikely
Summary
The creative aspect of language use provides a set of phenomena that a science of language must explain. Descartes saw an essential difference between humans and other animals that was most clearly exhibited by our linguistic ability to form new statements, which express new thoughts and are appropriate to but not directly caused by their contexts. The problem is how to account for the creative aspect of language use in a scientific context when it appears to be a form of free human action. The solution to this problem involves accepting that the mechanisms underlying the creative aspect of language use can be a fruitful subject matter for a science of language, but that language use itself may not be. The main issues that Descartes raised in regard to human language use are that (1) it allows for an unbounded expression of thought and (2) it is independent of direct stimulus control yet at the same time (3) it is appropriate to new situations and coherent in new contexts
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