The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window Into Human NatureNew York Timesbestselling 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 books—including the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Blank Slate—have catapulted him into the limelight as one of today’s most important and popular science writers. Now, in The Stuff of Thought, Pinker marries two of the subjects he knows best: language and human nature. The result is a fascinating look at how our words explain our nature. What does swearing reveal about our emotions? Why does innuendo disclose something about relationships? Pinker reveals how our use of prepositions and tenses taps into peculiarly human concepts of space and time, and how our nouns and verbs speak to our notions of matter. Even the names we give our babies have important things to say about our relations to our children and to society. With his signature wit and style, Pinker takes on scientific questions like whether language affects thought, as well as forays into everyday life—why is bulk e-mail called spam and how do romantic comedies get such mileage out of the ambiguities of dating? The Stuff of Thoughtis a brilliantly crafted and highly readable work that will appeal to fans of readers of everything from The Selfish Geneand Blinkto Eats, Shoots & Leaves. |
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The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature Steven Pinker No preview available - 2008 |
The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window Into Human Nature Steven Pinker No preview available - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
abstract agonist analogy asked baby brain bribe called Cambridge causal cause chapter Cognitive Science concepts conceptual metaphors conceptual semantics constructions construe count count nouns culture dative distinction dysphemism emotional English entity event everyday example experience express face Fodor force frame fuck Gentner grammar Gropen guage happens hearer human idea implicature indirect speech innate intuitions Jackendoff kind Lakoff language Levinson Linguistic Determinism locative logic look mass nouns meaning mental microclasses mind motion move nature object person phonesthesia physical Pinker Pirahã politeness polysemy preposition problem psychology reason refer relationship semantics sense sentence sexual shape shit sniglets social someone sound space spam spatial speakers Steven Pinker substance swearing taboo words Talmy tense theory things thought tion transitive verbs turn Tzeltal understanding University Press verbs William Shakespeare wug test York
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Inside the Soviet Alternate Universe: The Cold War's End and the Soviet ... Dick Combs Limited preview - 2010 |
Mindful Leadership: A Brain-Based Framework Michael H. Dickmann,Nancy Stanford-Blair No preview available - 2008 |