Fodor's Version of Chomsky's Argument Against the Evolution of Language by Natural Selection

Dr. Don Dedrick

Department of Philosophy and Institute of Cognitive Science

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

 

Abstract

Noam Chomsky has long been suspicious of evolutionary, selectionist accounts of the origins of language, yet his reasons for this suspicion have never been entirely clear. In a recent book, Jerry Fodor offers us "the usual Chomskian story" as to why language need not be a product of natural selection. I point out that this argument is exceedingly weak, formally speaking. I argue, further, that Fodor's premises - attributed to Chomsky - are implausible. (Warning: virtually no experimental evidence will be discussed in the course of this presentation. I am, after all, talking about Fodor and Chomsky.)