Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion of Walker Percy

["Parlin, Steven" <PARLINS AT culver.org>]

Cats play too, as do

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Joseph Cimino [mailto:evopsych AT hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2002 6:05 PM
To: percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [percy-l] Play As A Precursor To Language?

 

 

Many animals play. Especially chimps. They play a lot, and they're arguably the most intelligent non-human animals. And when they do play, it looks a lot like fighting, but its not. In the example of play, "fighting" is not fighting, but the opposite. The chimps understand that their actions, while seemingly violent, are actually affectionate. Isn't that enough symbolism to constitute consciousness - a "knowing" of a "world" in which they created through they're symbolic play-fight?

And if these chimps are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, and we have language, and the they do not, then might play be a precursor to language? Or, perhaps even an example of language?

Joe C.

---

Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*

-- An archive of all list discussion is available at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy/hypermail Visit the Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy