Abstract
In this paper we discuss how Fibonacci growth patterns are apparent in the structure of human language. We moreover show how familiar dynamics yielding these sorts of patterns in nature may be taken to apply, at some level of abstraction, for the human faculty of language. The overall picture casts doubts on any simplistic treatment of language behavior, of the sort stemming from classical behaviorism in psychology (which is again popular in contemporary computational models). Instead, it appears to be more profitable to study language as a complex dynamic system, emerging in human brains for physical reasons which are yet to be fully comprehended, but which in the end disfavor any dualistic approach to the study of mind in general, and the human mind in particular.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 207-224 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Physics of Life Reviews |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2008 |
Keywords
- Complexity
- Fibonacci
- Language
- Structure
- Syntax
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
- General Physics and Astronomy
- Artificial Intelligence