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The human mind: origin in geometry.

William L Abler¹

¹Department of Geology, The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois 60605, USA. wabler@fieldmuseum.org

Science Progress

|December 25, 2010

Summary

This study proposes a new theoretical basis for the scientific study of mind, language, and brain, rooted in geometry. It suggests language, tool use, and mathematical reasoning stem from geometric principles, defining human cognition.

Area of Science:

Cognitive Science
Linguistics
Philosophy of Mind
Neuroscience

Background:

The scientific study of language faces foundational disagreements regarding universal grammar and the nature of language itself.
Analogous to the identification of genetic material following Mendel's laws, a theoretical breakthrough is needed for understanding mind, language, and brain.
Current understanding of the mind lacks a unified theoretical basis, particularly concerning the origins of language and cognition.

Purpose of the Study:

To establish a theoretical foundation for the scientific study of mind, language, and brain.
To propose that a geometric component underlies key human cognitive abilities, including language, tool use, and the sense of truth.
To explore the deep structure of language and its relationship to mathematical and logical principles.

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Main Methods:

Theoretical analysis of linguistic structures and their relationship to mathematical laws (commutative, associative, distributive).
Comparative analysis of sentence deep structure with the structure of equations and tool use.
Examination of the cognitive underpinnings of truth, falsity, and arithmetic reasoning.

Main Results:

Human cognition is characterized by two components: one biological/behavioral, the other geometric.
Language constructions adhere to fundamental geometric laws, with deep structures derived from symmetrical geometric principles.
Tool use and the manipulation of mental images are extensions of linguistic structures, originating from geometry.

Conclusions:

Geometry provides a unifying theoretical basis for understanding language, tool use, and the human sense of truth and falsity.
The symmetrical deep structure of equations informs the asymmetrical Subject-Verb-Object structure of sentences.
A geometric perspective offers a novel framework for resolving foundational issues in the scientific study of mind, language, and brain.