--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems inconceivable that a species of…" description: "\"It seems inconceivable that a species of human could possess fully modern language and not be fully modern in all other ways, too. For this reason, the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/richard-leakey-14374_emergence_it-seems-inconceivable-that-a-species-of_2716549.jpg" --- # It seems inconceivable that a species of human could… ![“It seems inconceivable that a species of human could possess fully modern language and not be fully modern in all other ways, too. For this reason, the evolution of language is widely judged to be the culminating event in the emergence of humanity as we know it today.” quote by Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/richard-leakey-14374_emergence_it-seems-inconceivable-that-a-species-of_2716549.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/richard-leakey-14374_emergence_it-seems-inconceivable-that-a-species-of_2716549.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/richard-leakey-14374_emergence_it-seems-inconceivable-that-a-species-of_2716549.jpg) > “It seems inconceivable that a species of human could possess fully modern language and not be fully modern in all other ways, too. For this reason, the evolution of language is widely judged to be the culminating event in the emergence of humanity as we know it today.” [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human language is a defining evolutionary milestone; without it, other modern traits would be incomplete. **In simple terms:** Language is central to human evolution. Key Takeaway Recognize language's pivotal role. Themes evolution language humanity Mood thoughtful analytical curious Type science anthropology When to use this quote - education - cultural studies - technology development Key Concepts anthropology cognitive science communication Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape culture? - What other traits co‑evolved with language? A Different Perspective Language alone doesn't guarantee societal progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emergence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emergence/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Modern languages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-languages/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [We can move no faster than the evolution of our language, and this is certainly part of what the psychedelics are about: they force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-can-move-no-faster-than-the-evolution-of-our-language-and-this-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The bicameral mind with its controlling gods was evolved as a final stage of the evolution of language. And in this development lies the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-jaynes/the-bicameral-mind-with-its-controlling-gods-was-evolved-as-a-final/) [Julian Jaynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-jaynes/) > [Memetics provides a new approach to the evolution of language in which we apply Darwinian thinking to two replicators, not one. On this theory,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-blackmore/memetics-provides-a-new-approach-to-the-evolution-of-language-in/) [Susan Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-blackmore/) > [Modern language must be older than the cave paintings and cave engravings and cave sculptures and dance steps in the soft clay in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/modern-language-must-be-older-than-the-cave-paintings-and-cave/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > ["Writing" is the Latin of our times. The modern language of the people is video and sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/writing-is-the-latin-of-our-times-the-modern-language-of-the-people/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [In our evolution language has been the greatest single contribution to our understanding and misunderstanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-ogunlaru/in-our-evolution-language-has-been-the-greatest-single-contribution/) [Rasheed Ogunlaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-ogunlaru/) > [Metaphor isn't just a fancy turn of speech. It shapes our thoughts and feelings, reaches out to grasp new experience, and even binds our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/metaphor-isn-t-just-a-fancy-turn-of-speech-it-shapes-our-thoughts-and/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > [One way to think about what psychedelics are is as catalysts for language development. They literally force the evolution of language. You cannot evolve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/one-way-to-think-about-what-psychedelics-are-is-as-catalysts-for/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Words have a genealogy and it's easier to trace the evolution of a single word than the evolution of a language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/words-have-a-genealogy-and-it-s-easier-to-trace-the-evolution-of-a/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Moses - the man of God - was a species of human chameleon - scholar, general, law-giver, leader, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-studd/moses-the-man-of-god-was-a-species-of-human-chameleon-scholar-general/) [Charles Studd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-studd/) > [Perhaps it won't matter, in the end, which country is the sower of the seed of exploration. The importance will be in the growth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/perhaps-it-won-t-matter-in-the-end-which-country-is-the-sower-of-the/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [We are creatures. We have a link with a native habitat just like every other species. Throughout most of human history, physical activity was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-katz/we-are-creatures-we-have-a-link-with-a-native-habitat-just-like-every/) [David Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-katz/) > [You know what we need to heal are the thought forms and the feelings that cause us to create war and mass destruction on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/you-know-what-we-need-to-heal-are-the-thought-forms-and-the-feelings/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“You look like someone who’s discovered a new species of human”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-frank/you-look-like-someone-who-s-discovered-a-new-species-of-human/) [Ella Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-frank/) ## More by Richard Leakey > [I would hazard a guess that we have found fossilized human remains of at least a thousand different specimens in South and East Africa,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/i-would-hazard-a-guess-that-we-have-found-fossilized-human-remains-of/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [It has taken biologists some 230 years to identify and describe three quarters of a million insects; if there are indeed at least thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/it-has-taken-biologists-some-230-years-to-identify-and-describe-three/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [Sadly, I am not able to take part in the fieldwork myself so much anymore, as both of my legs were amputated following an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/sadly-i-am-not-able-to-take-part-in-the-fieldwork-myself-so-much/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [Elephants can live to an age of up to 70 or 80 years and they have a good memory. It could be they come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/elephants-can-live-to-an-age-of-up-to-70-or-80-years-and-they-have-a/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [Along the borders to Ethiopia and Somalia, anarchy reigns, the police and military have retreated quite some distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/along-the-borders-to-ethiopia-and-somalia-anarchy-reigns-the-police/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [To me it's a question of being able to look backward and give the present a root... To give meaning to where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/to-me-it-s-a-question-of-being-able-to-look-backward-and-give-the/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [I, too, am convinced that our ancestors came from Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/i-too-am-convinced-that-our-ancestors-came-from-africa/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [I have been raised to believe in freedom of thought and speech. If a minority wishes to accept that position it's their right. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/i-have-been-raised-to-believe-in-freedom-of-thought-and-speech-if-a/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [One should not forget that there are very few surviving items from this period, often just single, small bones, a tooth, a sliver of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/one-should-not-forget-that-there-are-very-few-surviving-items-from/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [For fossils to thrive, certain favorable circumstances are required. First of all, of course, remnants of life have to be there. These then need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/for-fossils-to-thrive-certain-favorable-circumstances-are-required/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [The language of art is powerful to those who understand it, and puzzling to those who do not. What we do know is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/the-language-of-art-is-powerful-to-those-who-understand-it-and/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [We are bipedal apes, and it should not be surprising to see that fact reflected in the way our ancestors lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/we-are-bipedal-apes-and-it-should-not-be-surprising-to-see-that-fact/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [The land is not in the least bit fertile and yet the cattle herds grow larger and larger. A cow represents capital investment here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/the-land-is-not-in-the-least-bit-fertile-and-yet-the-cattle-herds/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [The world's five thousand extant languages are products of our shared ability, but the five thousand cultures they create are separate from each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/the-world-s-five-thousand-extant-languages-are-products-of-our-shared/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [We hope to find more pieces of the puzzle which will shed light on the connection between this upright, walking ape, our early ancestor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/we-hope-to-find-more-pieces-of-the-puzzle-which-will-shed-light-on/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) [Explore all 47 Richard Leakey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) ## More Emergence quotes > [“On the journey of spiritual transformation, you want to lose your baggage. In fact, you want to make sure all of it is lost,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-rydall/on-the-journey-of-spiritual-transformation-you-want-to-lose-your/) [Derek Rydall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-rydall/) > [The mantra of the new historicists was "we have betrayed ourselves." Since their emergence, there have been more or less interesting paradigm shifts having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/the-mantra-of-the-new-historicists-was-we-have-betrayed-ourselves/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [“An ancient statement declares that “God is no respecter of persons.” What this means at the mystical level is that Spirit/The Universe doesn’t know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-rydall/an-ancient-statement-declares-that-god-is-no-respecter-of-persons/) [Derek Rydall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-rydall/) > [“Acorn struggles in pain to crack the hard shell and emerge. For it senses that out there… exists more and it knows it. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-rumi/acorn-struggles-in-pain-to-crack-the-hard-shell-and-emerge-for-it/) [Robin Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-rumi/) > [The moment of truth, the sudden emergence of a new insight, is an act of intuition. Such intuitions give the appearance of miraculous flushes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-moment-of-truth-the-sudden-emergence-of-a-new-insight-is-an-act/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [A vision is not something we make up, it's something we are MADE OF.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-rydall/a-vision-is-not-something-we-make-up-it-s-something-we-are-made-of/) [Derek Rydall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-rydall/) > [It can be a long gap between the emergence of fully researched historical biographies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-fraser/it-can-be-a-long-gap-between-the-emergence-of-fully-researched/) [Antonia Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonia-fraser/) > [“The phenomenon of emergence takes place at critical points of instability that arise from fluctuations in the environment, amplified by feedback loops.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/the-phenomenon-of-emergence-takes-place-at-critical-points-of/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [“Be in the world but not of it; become less attached to outcome and more attuned to outgo, which is the natural radiance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-rydall/be-in-the-world-but-not-of-it-become-less-attached-to-outcome-and/) [Derek Rydall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-rydall/) > [I am for God, I am the lover of God, I am loved by God, I am the servant of God, I am the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/i-am-for-god-i-am-the-lover-of-god-i-am-loved-by-god-i-am-the-servant/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [“Pick up a pinecone and count the spiral rows of scales. You may find eight spirals winding up to the left and 13 spirals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-kauffman/pick-up-a-pinecone-and-count-the-spiral-rows-of-scales-you-may-find/) [Stuart Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-kauffman/) > [Working with HBO was an opportunity to experience creative freedom and 'long-form development' that filmmakers didn't have a chance to do before the emergence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/working-with-hbo-was-an-opportunity-to-experience-creative-freedom/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [Indeed, being a beginner is very difficult right now. Book publishers are in a crisis, sales are dwindling, and publishing houses are losing money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-lukyanenko/indeed-being-a-beginner-is-very-difficult-right-now-book-publishers/) [Sergei Lukyanenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-lukyanenko/) > [Obviously, the Sixties was a time when everyone wanted to experiment, and then everything became very formulated and corporate, so artists tended to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-winwood/obviously-the-sixties-was-a-time-when-everyone-wanted-to-experiment/) [Steve Winwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-winwood/) > [The emergence of a unified cognitive moment relies on the coordination of scattered mosaics of functionally specialized brain regions. Here we review the mechanisms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-varela/the-emergence-of-a-unified-cognitive-moment-relies-on-the/) [Francisco Varela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-varela/) [Browse all 294 Emergence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emergence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It seems inconceivable that a species of human could possess fully modern language and not be fully modern in all other ways, too. 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