From Biological Instinct to Symbolic Language: The Symbolic Regulatory Semantic Network (SRSN) as a Bio-Psychological Framework for Language Emergence

.1. Introduction: Meaning Precedes Language – A Journey from Instinctive Perception to Symbolic ConsciousnessThe genesis of meaning and language stands as a profound and enduring enigma across philosophy, psychology, and anthropology. A fundamental question persists: Is language merely a vessel for pre-existing meaning, or does it actively construct the very fabric of our conceptual world? This paper advances a core hypothesis: meaning fundamentally precedes language. We posit that the rudimentary forms of meaning observed in the animal kingdom underwent a radical, evolutionarily driven transformation in humans, largely catalyzed by specific biological and cerebral adaptations. These critical changes paved the way for the emergence of what we term the Symbolic Regulatory Semantic Network (SRSN).The SRSN is conceived not merely as another cognitive mechanism, but as the central bio-psychological backbone connecting disparate evolutionary stages: from basic, instinct-driven responses in lower organisms, through the nascent symbolic capacities of higher animals, to the unparalleled complexity of human symbolic thought. Its primary function is to interpret the continuous influx of sensory experiences and meticulously transform them into abstract, shareable symbols. This transformative process empowers the human brain to liberate meaning from its immediate, reflexive ties to instinctive responses, allowing for its re-representation as a manipulable, abstract structure