Neuropsychology
THE STUFF OF THOUGHT
Language as a Window into Human Nature
Steven Pinker, Ph.D.
Viking Press, 2007
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES The reader will be able to:
• Describe the confluence of language and human nature
• Describe what swearing reveals about emotions
• Describe why verbs are considered the “chassis of the sentence.”
• Describe what innuendo discloses about relationships
• Describe how our use of prepositions and tenses taps into peculiarly human concepts of space and time
• Describe that nouns are the easiest words to identify across languages and usually are the first words understood by babies.
• Describe why people remember the gist of what they hear or read
• Describe metaphors through the review of the United States Declaration of Independence
• Describe taboo words
• Describe how our nouns and verbs speak to our notions of matter
• Describe how the names given to babies have implications about relations to their families and society
• Describe why reciprocal altruism is the evolutionary basis for Equality Matching.
• Illustrate how one’s mind might construct the world using Plato’s allegory of the cave
• Question how language affects thought, and which of our concepts are innate
• Describe how the brain works in a completely new style
Steven Pinker, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and the author of many books about language and the mind, as well as his exhaustive work on the evolution and decline of violence, THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE.
This "New York Times" bestseller is an exciting and fearless investigation of language. Bestselling author Steven Pinker possesses that rare combination of scientific aptitude and verbal eloquence that enables him to provide lucid explanations of deep and powerful ideas. His previous booksaincluding the Pulitzer Prize finalist "The Blank Slate"ahave catapulted him into the limelight as one of todayas most important popular science writers. In "The Stuff of Thought," Pinker presents a fascinating look at how our words explain our nature. Considering scientific questions with examples from everyday life, "The Stuff of Thought" is a brilliantly crafted and highly readable work that will appeal to fans of everything from "The Selfish Gene" and "Blink" to "Eats, Shoots & Leaves."
Editorial Reviews
This "New York Times" bestseller is an exciting and fearless investigation of language. Bestselling author Steven Pinker possesses that rare combination of scientific aptitude and verbal eloquence that enables him to provide lucid explanations of deep and powerful ideas. His previous booksaincluding the Pulitzer Prize finalist "The Blank Slate"ahave catapulted him into the limelight as one of todayas most important popular science writers. In "The Stuff of Thought," Pinker presents a fascinating look at how our words explain our nature. Considering scientific questions with examples from everyday life, "The Stuff of Thought" is a brilliantly crafted and highly readable work that will appeal to fans of everything from "The Selfish Gene" and "Blink" to "Eats, Shoots & Leaves."