Labor
division and the association of very abstract phonetic entities
to very concrete language instantiations of human experience are
interdependent.
The realm of alternatives
In defining the context of change leading from an
all-encompassing literacy to the civilization of illiteracy, I
referred to the Malthusian principle (Population, when
unchecked, increases geometrically, while food sources increase
arithmetically). What Malthus failed to acknowledge is the
heuristic nature of the human species, i.e., the progressive
realization of the creative potential of the only known species
that, in addition to maintaining its natural condition,
generates its own a-natural condition. In the process of their
self-constitution, humans generate also the means for their
survival and future growth beyond the circularity of mere
survival strategies. The 19th century economist Henri George
gave the following example of this characteristic: "Both the
jayhawk and the man eat chicken, but the more jayhawks, the fewer
chickens, while the more men, the more chickens." (Just think
about the Purdue chicken industry!) The formula is flawed.
Humans also intervene in the jayhawk-chicken relation; the number
of animals and birds in a certain area is affected by more
elements than what eats what; and the population increase is
meaningless unless associated with patterns of human practical
experiences.
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