Social AnimaLs, ‘Proto-Languages’: A New Modality, Recently Discovered.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social AnimaLs,

 

‘Proto-Languages’:

 

A New Modality,

Recently

Discovered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Reader,

 

In terms of our _NQ ‘categorial-dialectical ideography’ model of ‘The Dialectic of Nature’, we represent the qualitative, ontological distinction between animal and human societies via the following ‘categorial arithmetiques/algebraics’ –

 

animaL societies²⁰ =  animaL societies¹   =   animaL societies ®

animaL societies²¹ = animaL societies² =  

animaL societies¹ <+> D animaL societies¹ |-º

animaL societies¹ <+> meta-[animal-]societies¹

– and we often abbreviate ‘meta-societies’ as just ‘Human-societies’, after the most ‘meta-Darwinianly successful’ known species of ‘meta-society’, in terms of ‘meta-Darwinian fitness’.

 

Via the ‘ideogramical language’ of the _NQ categorial-dialectical short-hand, the above expressions become –

 

L²⁰ =  L¹ ® L²¹ =  L²  =  L¹ ~<+>~ DL¹  |-º  

L¹ ~<+>~ H¹  =  L ~<+>~ H

 

– with ‘~<+>~’ explicitizing the ‘oppositional addition’ of qualitatively-different, ontologically-different categories, such that the right-more category-symbol, here H, represents a multi-determination, «aufheben» ‘‘‘determinate negation’’’ of the left-more category-symbol, here L.

 

Whereas human societies are characterized by fully-fledged human languages, pre-human, pre-meta-social, merely-social animal societies are characterized by what we call ‘proto-languages’.

 

Such ‘proto-languages’ have for long been observed as being communicated vocally, e.g., such as warning calls, mating calls, bird songs, transmitted via air, or, e.g., for whale and dolphin calls, conveyed via water, as well as via scent-based, biochemical, olfactory communications, and sometimes via ritualized dances, as with bees and some birds, etc., or via “bioluminescence”, as with the glowing bodies of fireflies, for example. 

 

However, recently, a new modality of animal-social ‘proto-language’ communication has been discovered.

 

This new modality is via biologically-directed light-waves that are beyond the light-spectrum range that is directly observable by the human senses, because the frequency-domain of the light-waves being so-directed is in the ultra-violet sub-range.

 

As investigated by a team of scientists from the University of Georgia, including scientists from its “Deer Lab”, the social, herd animals known as deer – specifically, “white-tailed deer” [Odocoileus virginianus] – employ, during their mating seasons, a ‘proto-language’ medium that combines olfactory signaling with signaling via UV light.

 

On the olfactory signaling side, male deer rub their antlers on trees in their habitat, thereby depositing glandular secretions, and also urinate on such trees.

 

On the UV light-signaling side, these markings are called “photoluminescent”.  This phenomenon of “photo-luminescence” differs from “bio-luminescence”, whereby animals use bio-chemicals to generate light signals in their bodies.  “Photo-luminescence” [perhaps more accurately called ‘bio-photo-luminescence’ in this context], on the contrary, requires an external source of photons, in this case, of ultraviolet photons, to be reflected from the photoluminescent external markings.  In this case, both the antler glandular secretions and the urine may be photoluminescent.

 

Because this species of deer have visual senses that are extra-sensitive to blue light, including to ‘ultra-blue’ UV light that human eyes, for example, cannot see, these UV markings create ‘communication loci’ of sight and aroma.

 

The University of Georgia researchers hypothesize that these photoluminescent and olfactory markings on trees were attractive to other deer.

 

Deer are “crepuscular” – active mainly in twilight conditions – when the Sun and its main light-ranges are mostly absent, so that UV light dominates the deers’ environments, as the ultraviolet rays are then no longer being “drowned out”, by the rays of the Sun-borne, e.g., humans-visible light spectrum.

 

These deer ‘proto-linguistic’ signals are thought to assist in bringing together potential mates, as both kinds of sensory cues are thought to convey the breeding readiness and fitness-level of potential mates.  Thus, this deer adaptation is central to the self-reproductive rates of deer, thus to their Darwinian fitness.

 

The journal Ecology and Evolution published results of this University of Georgia research, as reported by Darren Orf, in a news article entitled “Scientists Discovered Deer Leave Glowing Signals In Their Wake That Humans Can’t Detect”.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information regarding these Seldonian insights, and to read and/or download, free of charge, PDFs and/or JPGs of Foundation books, other texts, and images, please see:

 

www.dialectics.info

 

 

and

 

 

https://independent.academia.edu/KarlSeldon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For partially pictographical, ‘poster-ized’ visualizations of many of these Seldonian insights -- specimens of ‘dialectical art’ – as well as dialectically-illustrated books published by the F.E.D. Press, see –

 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DialecticsMATH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

¡ENJOY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regards,

 

 

 

Miguel Detonacciones,

 

Voting Member, Foundation Encyclopedia Dialectica [F.E.D.];

Elected Member, F.E.D. General Council;

Participant, F.E.D. Special Council for Public Liaison;

Officer, F.E.D. Office of Public Liaison.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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