Both language and genes evolve by transmission over generations with opportunity for differential replication of forms. The understanding that gene frequencies change at random by genetic drift, even in the absence of natural selection, was a seminal advance in evolutionary biology. Stochastic drift must also occur in language as a result of randomness in how linguistic forms are copied between speakers. Here we quantify the strength of selection relative to stochastic drift in language evolution. We use time series derived from (...) large corpora of annotated texts dating from the 12th to 21st centuries to analyse three well-known grammatical changes in English: the regularization of past-tense verbs, the introduction of the periphrastic ’do’, and variation in verbal negation. We reject stochastic drift in favour of selection in some cases but not in others. In particular, we infer selection towards the irregular forms of some past-tense verbs, which is likely driven by changing frequencies of rhyming patterns over time. We show that stochastic drift is stronger for rare words, which may explain why rare forms are more prone to replacement than common ones. This work provides a method for testing selective theories of language change against a null model and reveals an underappreciated role for stochasticity in language evolution. (shrink)

The epistemology of dialectical materialism emphasizes two characteristic features of the picture of the world existing in our minds. First, it presents itself as reflection, i.e., as an image of an objective reality that exists independent of our consciousness. Secondly, this picture provides a reflection of the real world and the regularities of its development that is only approximately complete. The following comment by Lenin is of fundamental significance in this connection: "Cognition is man's reflection of nature, but it is (...) not a simple, not a direct, not a complete reflection, but a process involving a series of abstractions, the shaping and formation of concepts, laws, and the like, various concepts, laws, etc. and embraces, conditionally and approximately, the universal regularity of nature which is eternally moving and developing". (shrink)

An interesting but brief sketch of the teachings of some Christian and Jewish mystics. Baumgardt believes that mysticism adds an important, but presently neglected, dimension to human experience.--G. A.

Robert Sternfeld and Harold Zyskind have prepared, with considerable attention to details, a conscientious commentary upon Plato’s Meno. They make some use of, even though they differ from, Jacob Klein’s "distinguished linear and linguistic commentary". The authors bring to bear on the Meno their studies in logic and rhetoric. Professor Sternfeld is the author of Frege’s Logical Theory; Professor Zyskind is the author of a rhetorical analysis of the Gettysburg Address.

Twenty-five essays originally published by Mead in various journals and now out-of-print books. This collection contains almost all of the philosophically significant writings of Mead which were published during his lifetime. Reck has written a fine introduction which relates the essays to Mead's posthumously published work and places his thought as a whole in historical perspective. This volume will be of interest both to philosophers and to students of social psychology.—G. A. C.