The Emergence of Language As a Function of Brain-Hemispheric
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James Madison University JMU Scholarly Commons Masters Theses The Graduate School Summer 2012 The mee rgence of language as a function of brain- hemispheric feedback Eric Alexander La Freniere James Madison University Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019 Part of the Rhetoric and Composition Commons Recommended Citation La Freniere, Eric Alexander, "The mee rgence of language as a function of brain-hemispheric feedback" (2012). Masters Theses. 257. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/master201019/257 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the The Graduate School at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Emergence of Language as a Function of Brain-Hemispheric Feedback Eric Alexander La Freniere A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Science School of Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication August 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. iv List of Tables .......................................................................................................................v List of Figures .................................................................................................................... vi Abstract ............................................................................................................................ viii Section 1.0 - Introduction ....................................................................................................1 1.1 - Tree of Knowledge .........................................................................................1 1.2 - Spiral of Evolution..........................................................................................4 1.3 - Evolution by Abstraction ................................................................................8 Section 2.0 - Evolution and Language ...............................................................................13 2.1 - Ban on Origin ...............................................................................................13 2.2 - Problems with Gradualism ...........................................................................16 2.3 - Signs about Ideas ..........................................................................................21 2.4 - Signs of Change ............................................................................................25 Section 3.0 - Language and the Brain ................................................................................30 3.1 - Discovery of Lateralization ..........................................................................30 3.2 - Determination of Differences .......................................................................37 3.3 - Levels of Lateralization ................................................................................42 3.4 - Evolution of Lateralization ...........................................................................45 Section 4.0 - Archeological Evidence ................................................................................55 4.1 - Setting the Stage ...........................................................................................55 4.2 - Drawing the Curtains ....................................................................................63 4.3 - Starting the Play............................................................................................83 Section 5.0 - Feedback and Contingency .........................................................................106 5.1 - Science of Sciences ....................................................................................106 5.2 - Theory of Signs ..........................................................................................122 5.3 - Emergence of Language .............................................................................142 References ........................................................................................................................171 ii DEDICATION For my mother—Bernadette Michelle-Marie La Freniere (1948-2012). iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to thank my thesis committee—Drs. Lynn Fichter, Gregg Henriques, Michael Klein, Dave Pruett, and Traci Zimmerman—for their expertise, advice, patience, and trust. I am especially grateful to my committee chair and mentor—Dr. Zimmerman— for her additional time and energy, and for her kindness and understanding. Over the years, my closest friends—Gera Miles, Marc Chenault, Greg Conrow, and John Newman—encouraged me to finish my schooling (Newman: “It’s time to shit or get off the pot!”). I hope my scholarly efforts are worthy of their high estimations. Without the support of my father—Jimmie La Freniere—it would have been even more difficult to complete my undergraduate and master’s degrees. He and my mother always believed in and loved me, even when I wandered along strange paths. But the person who encouraged and supported me most is my best friend, wife, and muse—Meredith—who concocted delicious organic meals to keep me healthy, often read my febrile brain to sleep, listened to my cryptic rants, and provided insightful feedback and ideas. Truly, I am a lucky man! iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Stages of (Proto-)Language / Culture and Consciousness ...................................87 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Tree of Knowledge System ..................................................................................2 Figure 2. Visual Models of Disciplinary Relationships ......................................................5 Figure 3. Emerging Oral Cultural Structures .......................................................................6 Figure 4. Emerging Literate Cultural Structures..................................................................8 Figure 5. Overlay of Genetic and Linguistic Data .............................................................24 Figure 6. The Corpus Callosum, Dorsal and Lateral Views ..............................................33 Figure 7. Left Hemisphere Language Centers ...................................................................35 Figure 8. Drawings Produced by Subjects with Hemispatial Neglect ...............................38 Figure 9. Isolating Hemispheric Functions in Split-Brain Subjects ..................................40 Figure 10. Yakovlevian Torque .........................................................................................45 Figure 11. Emerging Complexity of Life Over Time ........................................................47 Figure 12. Approach and Avoidance Module-Halves of the Fish Brain ...........................49 Figure 13. Dorsal and Ventral Visual Streams ..................................................................58 Figure 14. Hominid Hands .................................................................................................60 Figure 15. Olduwan Chopper .............................................................................................64 Figure 16. Olduwan Production .........................................................................................65 Figure 17. Hand-Brain Emergence of the Human Technical Module ...............................68 Figure 18. Relationships Among Cognitive Modules and Language ................................69 Figure 19. Acheulean Handaxe and Possible Proto-Art Fashioned by Erectus .................74 Figure 20. Hand-Brain Positive Feedback Loop................................................................77 Figure 21. Levellois Point ..................................................................................................79 Figure 22. Possible Neanderthalensis Cave Painting ........................................................82 Figure 23. Replacement and Multiregional Theories ........................................................83 Figure 24. Sapiens as Neotenic Chimpanzees ...................................................................90 Figure 25. Sapiens as Neotenic Neanderthalensis .............................................................92 vi Figure 26. Blombos Cave Artifacts ...................................................................................96 Figure 27. African Rock Art Traditions .............................................................................98 Figure 28. Australian Rock Art Traditions ........................................................................99 Figure 29. Upper Paleolithic European Cultural Artifacts...............................................101 Figure 30. The Two Primal Foci: Big Beasts and Big Breasts ........................................103 Figure 31. Interlocking Geophysiological Systems .........................................................108 Figure 32. Feedback: General, Positive, and Negative ....................................................110 Figure 33. Power Law Curve ...........................................................................................111 Figure 34. Linear Feedback or Recursion: Golden Ratio and Koch Snowflake ..............113