| Human Language and Our Reptilian Brain: The Subcortical Bases of Speech, Syntax, and Thought Contributor(s): Lieberman, Philip (Author) |
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ISBN: 067400793X ISBN-13: 9780674007932 Publisher: Harvard University Press OUR PRICE: $45.54 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: May 2002 Annotation: This book is an entry into the fierce current debate among psycholinguists, neuroscientists, and evolutionary theorists about the nature and origins of human language. A prominent neuroscientist here takes up the Darwinian case, using data seldom considered by psycholinguists and neurolinguists to argue that human language--though more sophisticated than all other forms of animal communication--is not a qualitatively different ability from all forms of animal communication, does not require a quantum evolutionary leap to explain it, and is not unified in a single "language instinct." Using clinical evidence from speech-impaired patients, functional neuroimaging, and evolutionary biology to make his case, Philip Lieberman contends that human language is not a single separate module but a functional neurological system made up of many separate abilities. Language remains as it began, Lieberman argues: a device for coping with the world. But in a blow to human narcissism, he makes the case that this most remarkable human ability is a by-product of our remote reptilian ancestors' abilities to dodge hazards, seize opportunities, and live to see another day. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Psychology | Neuropsychology - Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - General - Medical | Neuroscience |
| Dewey: 612.8 |
| Series: Perspectives in Cognitive Neuroscience |
| Physical Information: 0.65" H x 6.22" W x 9.3" (0.76 lbs) 240 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This book is an entry into the fierce current debate among psycholinguists, neuroscientists, and evolutionary theorists about the nature and origins of human language. A prominent neuroscientist here takes up the Darwinian case, using data seldom considered by psycholinguists and neurolinguists to argue that human language--though more sophisticated than all other forms of animal communication--is not a qualitatively different ability from all forms of animal communication, does not require a quantum evolutionary leap to explain it, and is not unified in a single language instinct. Using clinical evidence from speech-impaired patients, functional neuroimaging, and evolutionary biology to make his case, Philip Lieberman contends that human language is not a single separate module but a functional neurological system made up of many separate abilities. Language remains as it began, Lieberman argues: a device for coping with the world. But in a blow to human narcissism, he makes the case that this most remarkable human ability is a by-product of our remote reptilian ancestors' abilities to dodge hazards, seize opportunities, and live to see another day. |
Contributor Bio(s): Lieberman, Philip: - Philip Lieberman is Fred M. Seed Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences and Professor of Anthropology at Brown University. |