Language, Thought, and Ethics: Key Concepts Explained
Origin and Development of Language
Human language is not innate but acquired on a genetic basis through a social process of learning.
Theories on Language Origin
Concern for tracing the origin of language is a constant in the history of philosophy and science.
- Mythical and Religious Theories: The emergence of language is attributed to a divine gift.
- Convention Theories: Language is the product of a social pact between humans.
- The Social Character of Language: Language is necessarily a product of social life.
- Evolutionary Theories: Language is formed through a slow evolutionary process that culminated in the perfection of today’s languages.
Relations Between Language and Thought
Some theories suggest language determines thought. Linguists advocating this position include Sapir and Whorf. This hypothesis states that language determines concepts.
Other theories propose thought depends on language. Psychologist Piaget defends this position, arguing that language is a result of the development of intelligence, understood as adaptability to the environment.
Russian psychologists Vygotsky and Luria argue that cognitive and linguistic skills emerge and develop as independent processes until the two powers come into close interdependence.
Fallacy
This term comes from the verb having two meanings: to deceive or to fail. If we start from the second meaning, it seems that a fallacy is an error of reasoning or reasoning is worthless. And if we start from the first sense, a fallacy is an argument building with intent to deceive the recipient.
Paradox
A paradox is an argument whose premises are created as true, but its conclusion is false, and its chain of reasoning is believed to be true.
Conscience
Conscience can be defined in general terms as the faculty that helps us to thoroughly examine the validity of the different possibilities of moral action. However, the moral conscience not only informs about the different ethical value of our actions, thoughts, and even omissions. Conscience tells us what our moral duty is to act at the same time, rewarding us with the pleasant feeling of accomplishment or punishing us by the uncomfortable feeling of remorse.
Anthropocentrism
Anthropocentrism understands the human being as the measure of all things. From the viewpoint of ecological ethics, this means that environmental issues are important in terms of human welfare and should be avoided. What matters is not the state of forests or the disappearance of animals, but how this condition affects us.
Biocentrism
Biocentrism is an ethical position that argues that all beings, by virtue of being alive, deserve moral respect. This is because all living beings value life and fight in any condition to go on living, even without being aware of it. Therefore, we should respect it, but not all life has the same moral significance.
Ecocentrism
Ecocentrism is an ethical theory which holds that the morally relevant entity is the biosphere and the major systems that are not individuals. The value must always respect the whole and not the individuals who compose it.
Sociobiology
Since 1975, Sociobiology refuses to admit that the human being at birth is a tabula rasa, and not subject to any conditions. On the contrary, this science argues that there is a predisposition to behave instinctively to a common problem in our environment. Sociobiology attempts to apply to humans the results of their observations on animal behavior.