Feral Children: Two Living Examples and a Little Neurology

The question of what is learned, which is innate, and how the two relate is at the heart of 2,000 years and more of the 4,000 reports of feral children.  I set aside, only briefly, any operational definition of 'feral'.

The issue of innate or cultural is also at the metaphorical heart of this symposium. I offer my knowledge of two such living persons known to me, only one of whom has been documented in the TV literature. The first is John Ssabyuna of Uganda and the second, known as CauCau, of southern Argentina.  I compare these to the publications regarding studies of the wild boy of Avignon whose scientific patron in France around 1800 was Itard, and the so-called Wolf-Girls of India, raised at the Singhs’ orphanage in the early 20th century.