Emotions, language, and Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

摘要

Conceptual and emotional mechanisms of language are considered along with their role in intelligence and cultural evolution. The paper discusses mechanisms of evolution of language from primordial undifferentiated animal cries to contemporary conceptual contents, while emotional contents are diminished. The paper suggests neural brain mechanisms involved in these processes. Experimental evidence and theoretical arguments are discussed, including mathematical approaches to cognition and language, including modeling fields theory, the knowledge instinct, and the dual model connecting language and cognition. Mathematical results are related to cognitive science, linguistics, and psychology. The paper gives an initial mathematical formulation and mean-field equations for the hierarchical dynamics. The knowledge instinct operating in the mind heterarchy leads to mechanisms of differentiation and synthesis determining ontological development and cultural evolution. Emotional contents of language are related to language grammar. The conclusion is an emotional version of Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Cultural advantages of ldquoconceptualrdquo pragmatic cultures, in which emotionality of language is diminished and differentiation overtakes synthesis resulting in fast evolution at the price of self doubts and internal crises, are compared to those of traditional cultures where differentiation lags behind synthesis, resulting in cultural stability at the price of stagnation. Unsolved problems and future theoretical and experimental directions are discussed.