The last piece in the jigsaw of cortical functions is linguistics, the ability to comprehend and produce language. Since the ancients it has been recognised that this ability, perhaps this ability alone, the capacity for logos, distinguishes man from beast. In line with all that has been described thus far, we shall recast the definition of language into Entities and Interpretation. Language as Potentiality-for-Being Before the anatomical correlations are explored, we must first come to understand language as a function of Interpretation. More specifically, we can describe the generalities of grammar as functional representations of the processes already described. Language can be broadly divided into two constructs, statement and question. The definition of each is easy to comprehend in terms of the philosophy presented here, a statement is information that, generally, presents a fulfilled Potentiality-for-Being, and a question information that, generally, presents an unfulfilled Potentiality-for-Being. Thus, in the same way Dasein Interprets Things of the World to Entities and from there Anticipates a Potentiality-for-Being of the Entities, it may perform the same function on Information of the World to produce linguistic Entities and linguistic Potentialities-for-Being: A linguistic Entity is what is "heard" and a linguistic Potentiality is what may be "said". Now, let us backtrack a little and see how this pertains to our physical and logical model of the brain... Origin Both speaking and listening are symbiotically fundamental, and define one another in function. We shall start, however, with the simpler process of listening. In the section on sensory cycles we saw how both sight and sound are processed by their respective primary cortices and projected into other senses whilst being iteratively Interpreted, building a representation of the world in which the sense modalities are linked. Listening to the They and reading what They wrote simply uses this framework. In the cortex, immediately posterior to the primary auditory cortex lies Wernicke's area, a region that Interprets words. Listening  Words may be either heard or read or gestured. In each modality of listening, what is presented to Wernicke's area are relatively high order Entities that are representative of the sound, symbol or movement, derived from what has been sensed with the ears or eyes, that in Wernicke's area are Interpreted as words of meaning. Wernicke's area with the angular gyrus and supramarginal gyrus are positioned at the cusp of confluence between the three main sense modalities, and accordingly are able to define the meaning of words with respect to all three. Whenever a voice is perceived, through hearing or sight, it is done so at this point in the cortex. Speaking Now just as the senses of the world are the basis for action of the body of Dasein, so too is what is heard the basis for what is said. The information from Wernicke's area and associated cortices is sent to Broca's area, a region of the frontal cortex, associated with the pre-motor cortex that performs the corresponding function for the body. To understand what Broca's area shall Interpret we need to first understand the nature of what has been heard; it is a Potentiality-for-Being of another instance, heard as an Entity of Information, a linguistic Entity. Language can be fundamentally divided into statement and question, the former not implying the need for a response, the latter asking for one. Both statements and questions are Potentialities-for-Being that have been conveyed in the same way a physical action is the manifestation of a Potentiality-for-Being that has been selected and executed. A statement should pose a Potentiality that shall be agreed upon by the listener, it is merely a representation of the world and as such should be agreeably intelligible to the listener. A question should pose an unresolved Potentiality-for-Being, and in so doing it prompts the listener to provide the information required to resolve it. We say "should", because communication is the foundation of culture, and thusly custom. To break the culture is to become unintelligible, thus defeating the purpose of language. However, a statement can, and they frequently do, pose unresolved Potentialities-for-Being, and an instance of Dasein of sufficient cultural advancement shall recognise this and respond appropriately. But it is most important here to see that in the origin of language there was an interplay between neural evolution and culture, for a time co-evolving, resulting in brain functions that represent the basics of the culture that were lain down. Broca's area, then, Interprets the nature of what is heard and seeks for an unresolved Potentiality-for-Being, in exactly the same way the other frontal cortical structures do for Thing Entities to produce Action. Of course, what is unresolvable to one instance may or may not be resolvable in another; such a decision is made with respect to information of the world, the Entities, and of declarative memories at hand. The result of this Interpretation leads Broca's area to Interpret a response. This response is simply an Interpretation that looks to resolve any perceived unfulfilled Potentiality, and in this respect what is always said seeks to address this. Summary
Created 2nd April 2009 Revised 2nd April 2009 |