Human Language and Our Reptilian Brain : The Subcortical Bases of Speech, Syntax, and Thought Paperback / softback
by Philip Lieberman
Part of the Perspectives in Cognitive Neuroscience series
Paperback / softback
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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.
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Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:240 pages, 6 halftones, 9 line illustrations
- Publisher:Harvard University Press
- Publication Date:31/05/2002
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- ISBN:9780674007932
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- PDF from £36.80
Information
-
Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:240 pages, 6 halftones, 9 line illustrations
- Publisher:Harvard University Press
- Publication Date:31/05/2002
- Category:
- ISBN:9780674007932