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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This book is an entry into the fierce current debate among psycholinguists, neuroscientists, and evolutionary theorists about the nature and origins of human la
The Biology and Evolution of Language
Language: en
Pages: 398
Authors: Philip Lieberman
Categories: Language Arts & Disciplines
Type: BOOK - Published: 1984 - Publisher: Harvard University Press

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This book synthesizes much of the exciting recent research in the biology of language. Drawing on data from anatomy, neurophysiology, physiology, and behavioral
Toward an Evolutionary Biology of Language
Language: en
Pages: 458
Authors: Philip Lieberman
Categories: Language Arts & Disciplines
Type: BOOK - Published: 2006-06-30 - Publisher: Harvard University Press

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In this forcefully argued book, the leading evolutionary theorist of language draws on evidence from evolutionary biology, genetics, physical anthropology, anat
Uniquely Human
Language: en
Pages: 230
Authors: Philip Lieberman
Categories: Language Arts & Disciplines
Type: BOOK - Published: 1991 - Publisher: Harvard University Press

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In a stimulating synthesis of cognitive science, anthropology, and linguistics, Philip Lieberman tackles the fundamental questions of human nature: How and why
The Triune Brain in Evolution
Language: en
Pages: 718
Authors: P.D. MacLean
Categories: Medical
Type: BOOK - Published: 1990-01-31 - Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

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"This is MacLean's major work on the evolutionary development of the human brain. In its evolution the human forebrain expands along the lines of three basic fo