Problem:
Tecumseh Fitch (2019) emphasizes how important it would be to discover whether the merge process is present in animal cognition, saying that it is crucial to "...explore in detail animals' abilities to combine concepts. To the extent that they can do so in a flexible, hierarchical manner, I think we can see the germs of the recursive symbolic system that underlies human linguistic concepts" (p. 6). Semantics (i.e. meaningful concepts) are clearly present in animals. The question of whether these concepts can be recombined in a way which resembles recursive syntax is less clear. If the recursive ability which underlies syntax could be found in the cognitive systems of animals, then animals may have something closer to a language of thought than we are currently able to demonstrate. Given the direction that research has previously gone and its current projections, it seems unlikely that the study of animal communication systems alone will provide the breakthrough insights into the origins of human language. The study of animal cognition currently looks more promising. Need Assignment Help?