Title:
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HUMAN LANGUAGE AND OUR REPTILIAN BRAIN
THE SUBCORTICAL BASES OF SPEECH, SYNTAX, AND THOUGHT |
By: |
Philip Lieberman |
Format: |
Paperback |
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List price:
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£38.95 |
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£31.16 |
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£7.79 |
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ISBN 10: |
067400793X |
ISBN 13: |
9780674007932 |
Availability: |
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Publisher: |
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS |
Pub. date: |
31 May, 2002 |
Series: |
Perspectives in Cognitive Neuroscience |
Pages: |
240 |
Description: |
This text is an entry into the fierce debate among psycholinguists, neuroscientists, and evolutionary theorists about the nature and origins of human language. |
Synopsis: |
This work is an entry into the fierce current debate among psycho-linguists, 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 psycho-linguists and neuro-linguists to argue that human language - though more sophisticated than all other forms of animal communication - is not a qualitative 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 neuro-imaging, 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 off many separate abilities. Language remains as it began, the author 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. |
Illustrations: |
6 halftones, 9 line illustrations |
Publication: |
US |
Imprint: |
Harvard University Press |
Returns: |
Returnable |
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