Simplicity of what? A case study from generative linguistics

Abstract

The Minimalist Program in generative linguistics is predicated on the idea that simplicity is a defining property of the human language faculty, on the one hand; on the other, a central aim of linguistic theorising. Worryingly, however, justifications for either claim are hard to come by in the literature. We sketch a proposal that would allow for both shortcomings to be addressed, and that furthermore honours the program's declared commitment to naturalism. We begin by teasing apart and clarifying the different conceptions of simplicity underlying generative inquiry, in both ontological and theoretical capacities. We then trace a path towards a more robust justification for each type of simplicity principle, drawing on recent work in cognitive science and in philosophy of science, respectively. The resulting proposal hinges on the idea that simplicity is an evolved, virtuous cognitive bias-one that is a condition of our scientific understanding and, ultimately, of successful scientific practice. Finally, we make a case for why minimalists should take this proposal seriously, on the one hand; and for why generative linguistics would make for an interesting case study for philosophy of science, on the other.

Natural language syntax complies with the free-energy principle

“…An intuition from 70 years ago-that the extent to which a model of grammar is simple seems to determine its explanatory power-echoes in the modern framing of syntactic computation as a system of economy: "[T]he motives behind the demand for economy are in many ways the same as those behind the demand that there be a system at all" (Chomsky 1951; see also Goodman 1951). This appeal to simplicity may even emerge from an evolved bias shared across our species to favour simple solutions, (see the 'cognitive simplicity hypothesis'; Terzian and Corbalán 2020). The FEP has produced formal, simulation-supported models of complex cognitive mechanisms such as action, perception, learning, attention and communication, while theories of syntax embracing computational efficiency have led to empirically successful outcomes, explaining grammaticality intuitions (Adger 2003, Sprouse 2011, Sprouse & Almeida 2017, certain poverty of stimulus issues (Berwick et al 2011, Wexler 2003, Yang et al 2017) and the pervasive organizational role that hierarchy has in language (Friederici et al 2017, Grimaldi 2012.…”

“…Generative linguistics has long appealed to economy considerations (e.g., the evaluation metric in Chomsky & Halle 1968). This appeal to simplicity may even emerge from an evolved bias shared across our species to favour simple solutions (see the 'cognitive simplicity hypothesis'; Terzian & Corbalán 2021). The FEP has produced formal, simulation-supported models of complex cognitive mechanisms such as action, perception, learning, attention and communication, while theories of syntax embracing computational efficiency have led to empirically successful outcomes, explaining grammaticality intuitions (Adger 2003, Sprouse 2011, Sprouse & Almeida 2017, certain poverty of 51 stimulus issues (Berwick et al 2011, Culbertson et al 2012, Wexler 2003, Yang et al 2017) and the pervasive organizational role that hierarchy has in language (Friederici et al 2017, Grimaldi 2012) and the seemingly unique proclivity humans have to parse sequences into tree-structures.…”

Natural language syntax complies with the free-energy principle

“…The notion of simplicity has been a methodological value which has guided linguistic inquiry for decades (Terzian & Corbalan 2021 ). Chomsky ( 2021b , p. 13) notes that “measuring simplicity is an essential task and is no simple matter”.…”

Pengembangan E-modul Pembelajaran Ekosistem Berbasis Masalah

“…E-modul berkategori sangat valid dalam hal ini sebab e-modul mengandung instruksi yang jelas dan mudah dipahami sehingga memudahkan siswa untuk belajar tanpa bimbingan guru secara langsung. Kesederhanaan dan pilihan kata yang umum, bahasa yang mudah dipahami, dan konsistensi penggunaan, merupakan unsur esensial dalam bahan ajar karena siswa pada dasarnya memerlukan bimbingan yang jelas, bernas, dan sederhana untuk memahami informasi saintifik yang rumit (King-Heiden & Litster, 2019;Terzian & Corbalán, 2021).…”