Hidden Language
If we wanted to we could write the languages of all the animals, because behavior is a way to express intention and feeling just as words are. We're not being inaccurate when we translate a mother bear's aggressive behavior towards those who wander too close to her cub as something like, "you'd better back off or I'll hurt you!" A male peacock with its plumage fully unfurled is saying, "hey ladies, check me out and come on over!" Even much more subtle behavior, I believe, could be translated into words, regardless of the fact that the animals aren't thinking anything like words-they're feeling and doing instead.
This animal language project could be done in a way that doesn't embellish or subscribe intent or feeling to a behavior that simply has none. The study could be done scientifically to ensure that a word or phrase that is attached to a behavior is always true-that it always means what its supposed to mean, regardless of the individual animal.
Anyway, its an interesting idea. Imagine if animal language was translated into human language, and imagine if animals were given microchips and "voiceboxes" that did the translating and speaking (I think there's been a movie or two that have had a lot of fun with this idea). A new age of enhanced empathy for our fellow creatures might be born. Or, maybe, a new age of disregard for their stupidity or lack of morals. Who knows?
Animals get along fine without the alphabet, distinct vocalized symbols (words and phrases), and logic. My claim for this blog is that humans still live and communicate through a hidden language-through behaviors, impulses, signals, etc that are not logical, but entirely natural just like some animal subject of a National Geographic special. We do what we do not out of loyalty to truth, logic, or reason-at least not normally. Rather, we usually fall in line with cultural trappings-religious, familial, national, social, or otherwise. And we continue to work to satisfy the same natural/primitive urges and inclinations that kept our family line surviving over all these hundreds of thousands of years. Obvious natural urges are things like sexual desire, care for children, wanting to grow or hunt food, securing a home and goods. Slightly less obvious natural inclinations are things like the desire to gain and keep status, loyalty, the desire to wander, and even animosity towards others.
Facebook has made a few things clear to me. 1) People want to be liked and noticed. 2) People want to laugh. 3) People like to express their views. 4) People don't want to think. I know, it sounds harsh. But ideas and logic and the desire to express and argue about them are not natural inclinations for most people. What is natural is responding emotionally to others. The weight of maintaining social happiness and harmony bears too heavily on most minds to allow those persons to divorce their preferences and sensitivities from logical discussions of ideas. In short, we haven't really begun to talk about ideas until we've learned to communicate without our egos.
(more thoughts on the subject to come)
This animal language project could be done in a way that doesn't embellish or subscribe intent or feeling to a behavior that simply has none. The study could be done scientifically to ensure that a word or phrase that is attached to a behavior is always true-that it always means what its supposed to mean, regardless of the individual animal.
Anyway, its an interesting idea. Imagine if animal language was translated into human language, and imagine if animals were given microchips and "voiceboxes" that did the translating and speaking (I think there's been a movie or two that have had a lot of fun with this idea). A new age of enhanced empathy for our fellow creatures might be born. Or, maybe, a new age of disregard for their stupidity or lack of morals. Who knows?
Animals get along fine without the alphabet, distinct vocalized symbols (words and phrases), and logic. My claim for this blog is that humans still live and communicate through a hidden language-through behaviors, impulses, signals, etc that are not logical, but entirely natural just like some animal subject of a National Geographic special. We do what we do not out of loyalty to truth, logic, or reason-at least not normally. Rather, we usually fall in line with cultural trappings-religious, familial, national, social, or otherwise. And we continue to work to satisfy the same natural/primitive urges and inclinations that kept our family line surviving over all these hundreds of thousands of years. Obvious natural urges are things like sexual desire, care for children, wanting to grow or hunt food, securing a home and goods. Slightly less obvious natural inclinations are things like the desire to gain and keep status, loyalty, the desire to wander, and even animosity towards others.
Facebook has made a few things clear to me. 1) People want to be liked and noticed. 2) People want to laugh. 3) People like to express their views. 4) People don't want to think. I know, it sounds harsh. But ideas and logic and the desire to express and argue about them are not natural inclinations for most people. What is natural is responding emotionally to others. The weight of maintaining social happiness and harmony bears too heavily on most minds to allow those persons to divorce their preferences and sensitivities from logical discussions of ideas. In short, we haven't really begun to talk about ideas until we've learned to communicate without our egos.
(more thoughts on the subject to come)
posted by Josh at
8:08 PM
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