Dear all,
Being an administrative officer I probably shouldn't mingle with the scholarly discussions on this mailing-list. However I can recommend the works of Merlin Donald - in particular the book A Mind So Rare, 2001, in which he proposes the "hybrid mind theory" - language being a cultural product of the total dependency of other humans, rooted in the cognitive structures of our brains. This dependency makes it impossible to discuss the chicken and egg-problem about language, since humans are, according to Donald, simply adapted for living in culture, and language evolves at a group level. This could also be the case with other forms of cultural expressions - art, religion etc.
Best,
Lise Yde
Research Secretary
Kolding School of Design
-----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
Fra: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] På vegne af Klaus Krippendorff
Sendt: 30. maj 2013 09:14
Til: [log in to unmask]
Emne: Re: Design of Fire
dear birger,
you are right, this depends on what we call language and artifact.
that bees can coordinate their behavior relative to where pollens are located is well studied. some call it a language, others an artifact. we know that there are cultural differences. the biologist humberto maturana considers the interaction among cells in living systems "languaging." i don't think there are cultural differences. yes, birds build nests and monkeys are capable of using sticks to get food in cooperation or competition with family members -- but from what i understand that these activities are always accompanied by noises or bodily movements that communicate something. making fire requires a lot of preparation and cooperation, which is not likely to happen when there is no communication between individual human beings. i would not consider a pupa in the metamorphosis of insects an artifact as insects can't do otherwise
i think i should have said that language is the primary human artifact. it has a very long history to which almost every human being has made albeit miniscule creative contributions. and it is the medium by which we coordinate our activities, including utilizing sounds, movements, and matter available in our surroundings.
klaus
-----Original Message-----
From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Birger Sevaldson
Sent: Thursday, May 30, 2013 2:31 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Design of Fire
Dear Klaus. How can you be so sure that language is the first human artefact? Many animals use and shape tools while they communicate with very rudimentary signals that hardly can be called language. I guess this depends on the framing of the terms artefact and language. (Do bees have language? They form sequences of communication that form signals similar to sentences) Maybe these skills and systems have developed in an intertweened and interdependent way?
Sendt fra min HTC
----- Reply message -----
Fra: "Klaus Krippendorff" <[log in to unmask]>
Til: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Emne: Design of Fire
Dato: tor., mai 30, 2013 06:11
well,
yes,
Harold,
language is of course the first human artifact - not designed by any one, least of all by a designer, but by a multitude of contributors - and the foundation of the semantic turn in design.
klaus
Sent from my iPhone
On May 29, 2013, at 5:22 PM, "Harold Nelson" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Thank you for these references. The link to language is very interesting. I have a continuing interest in the linkage between imagination, images, language and image systems. That too goes a long way back in time as a design thread.
>
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.haroldnelson.com/
>
> accidental vagrant
> http://accidentalvagrant.blogspot.com/
>
> the design way
> http://www.thedesignway.net
>
> organizational design competence
> http://www.organizationaldesigncompetence.com/
>
> advanced design institute
> http://www.advanceddesigninstitute.blogspot.com/
>
>
>
>
>
> On May 29, 2013, at 1:17 PM, Yoad David Luxembourg <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Very nice Harold,
>>
>> If you feel alone in your position, I recommend reading Dong (2009 p.
>> 176-7). Design is at least as old as language (if not being language by itself) "Language is believed to have evolved at about the same time tool making was unfolding (Davidson &Nobel 1993)...
>> Arbib's mirror system hypotheses (2005) theories that the evolution of the language ready brain proceeded at pace with the development of motor skills."
>>
>> All the best!
>>
>> +++
>> Yoad David Luxembourg
>>
>> Designing the Intangible,
>> Design Metaphysics
>>
>> www.yoad.info<http://www.yoad.info>
>>
>>
>>
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