causal
Categories Given By Culture Not Biology
Although biological evolution gives individuals rich perceptual sensitivity (e.g. to many colors), the categories in a language are delivered by cultural evolution through a history of successful coordination, so there is never a direct link from biology to the words one actually speaks.
causalpending
Speaker
N.J. EnfieldEvidence Quote
“the categories in the language are not given to us by the biological evolution, they're given to us by the cultural evolution”
Source
203 | N.J. Enfield on Why Language is Good for Lawyers and Not Scientists— Sean Carroll's MindscapeCreated: 6/13/2026, 12:18:59 AM
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