LINGUIST List 22.3814 Fri Sep 30 2011 Disc: Inclusiveness Condition Editor for this issue: Elyssa Winzeler <elyssalinguistlist.org> To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.cfm. Directory         1.     David Schueler , Inclusiveness Condition Message 1: Inclusiveness Condition Date: 27-Sep-2011 From: David Schueler <daschuelumn.edu> Subject: Inclusiveness Condition E-mail this message to a friend I was wondering if anyone could help me understand why the Inclusiveness Condition, as defined in Chomsky 1995 and other work in the Minimalist Program, is so widely assumed as a working hypothesis. In most formulations, it says that in a language with optimal design, the computational system will not add information in the course of the derivation which is not already present in the lexical items. My question is: why? I don't see what's so imperfect about a computational system which adds information. This is a separate question from whether languages in fact have this property, since as Chomsky says many times, languages probably are not optimally designed after all; the SMT is probably false. But my question is, why would satisfying Inclusiveness be a criterion for being optimal in the first place? Linguistic Field(s): Linguistic Theories                             Syntax Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue Page Updated: 30-Sep-2011       About LINGUIST    |   Contact Us       While the LINGUIST List makes every effort to ensure the linguistic relevance of sites listed on its pages, it cannot vouch for their contents.