Human Language and Our Reptilian Brain

Human Language and Our Reptilian Brain
Author: Philip Lieberman
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2009-07-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0674040228


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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.


Human Language and Our Reptilian Brain
Language: en
Pages: 235
Authors: Philip Lieberman
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2009-07-01 - Publisher: Harvard University Press

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