LING 1010: Language and Mind - Empiricism and Nativism

Empiricism vs. Nativism: Fundamental Views* Empiricism and Nativism are two historical philosophical views on knowledge acquisition impacting language study.* Empiricists assert all knowledge derives from sensory experience; the mind is a tabula rasa at birth.* Nativists (Rationalists) claim some or all knowledge is independent of sensory experience and is innately endowed.## Historical Roots of Nativism: Plato's Problem* Plato's Problem questions how humans possess tacit knowledge they aren't consciously aware of.* Plato posited knowledge is innate, present unconsciously in souls, and gained through anamnesis (recollection), as exemplified by Socrates' geometric questioning.* In linguistics, Plato's Problem asks how speakers know language aspects without explicit teaching or experience, suggesting innate knowledge.## 17th Century Rationalism and Language* René Descartes and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz championed Rationalism, arguing for innate ideas (e.g., God, infinity) beyond sensory experience.* They proposed humans possess a rational soul with innate ideas, making knowledge necessary and universal, contrasting with partial sensory experience.* Rationalists, seeing human language creativity as unique and beyond experience, first suggested innate language and a Universal Grammar (UG).## Empiricism's Development: Locke and Behaviorism* John Locke countered Nativism, proposing all knowledge is based on experience, with the mind as a tabula rasa at birth.* Locke argued ideas come directly from sensory experience or are derived via general cognitive abilities such as abstraction, analogy, and definition.* Behaviorism (B.F. Skinner) extended Empiricism, focusing on observable behavior and language learning through reinforcement and punishment (progressive approximation).## Modern Perspectives: Connectionism and Chomsky's Universal Grammar* Connectionism represents modern Empiricism, modeling cognition with artificial neural networks that 'learn' by adjusting connection strengths based on input-output data.* Modern Nativism was revived by Noam Chomsky, who argued against Empiricist mechanisms for language acquisition, asserting innate Universal Grammar (UG).* Chomsky's UG is an innate, domain-specific body of language knowledge, inherent in human biology, equipping humans with a Language Acquisition Device (LAD).* Modern Nativism acknowledges environmental input is crucial for specific language settings and learning vocabulary, but UG/LAD are essential for successful acquisition.