Four Ways from Universal to Particular: How Chomsky's Language-Acquisition Faculty is Not Selectionist

TL;DR

This paper distinguishes Chomsky's language-acquisition mechanism from biological selectionist systems using dual mathematical logics, clarifying its unique generative nature.

Contribution

It introduces a formal distinction between genuine selectionist mechanisms and generative mechanisms in language acquisition using dual mathematical logics.

Findings

Chomsky's mechanism is not selectionist, unlike biological evolution or immune systems.

A dual logic framework effectively differentiates selectionist and generative mechanisms.

The distinction clarifies the nature of language acquisition mechanisms.

Abstract

Following the development of the selectionist theory of the immune system, there was an attempt to characterize many biological mechanisms as being "selectionist" as juxtaposed to "instructionist." But this broad definition would group Darwinian evolution, the immune system, embryonic development, and Chomsky's language-acquisition mechanism as all being "selectionist." Yet Chomsky's mechanism (and embryonic development) are significantly different from the selectionist mechanisms of biological evolution or the immune system. Surprisingly, there is an abstract way using two dual mathematical logics to make the distinction between genuinely selectionist mechanisms and what are better called "generative" mechanisms. This note outlines that distinction.