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Nadin, Mihai, 1938-

"The Civilization of Illiteracy"

The optimum chosen indicates
what, from the possibilities humans are aware of, is most
suitable for reaching the goal pursued. Moreover, such an
optimum is characteristic of the pragmatics of the particular
context. For example, hunting could be performed alone or in
groups, by throwing stones or hurling spears, by shooting
arrows, or by setting traps.
The syncretic primitive being was (and still is, in existing
primitive cultures) involved in a practical experience in its
wholeness: through that being's biological endowment, relation
to the environment, acquired skills and understanding, emotions
(such as fear, joy, sorrow). The specialized individual
constitutes himself in experiences progressively more and more
partial. Nevertheless, the two have a natural condition in
common. What distinguishes them is a strategy for survival and
preservation that progressively departs from immediate needs and
direct action to humanized needs and mediated action. This means
a departure from a very limited set of options ("When hungry,
search for food," for example), to multiplying the options, and
thus establishing for the human being an innate heuristic
condition. This means that Homo Sapiens looks for options.
Humans are creative and efficient.
My line of reasoning argues that, while verbal language may be
innate (as Chomsky's theory advances), the heuristic dimension
characteristic of human self- constitution certainly is.


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