The Recursive Mind by Michael C Corballis
Challenges the commonly held notion that language is what makes us uniquely human. This book argues that what distinguishes us in the animal kingdom is our capacity for recursion: the ability to embed our thoughts within other thoughts. It shows how the recursive mind was critical to survival in the harsh conditions of the Pleistocene epoch.
"The Recursive Mind: The Origins of Human Language, Thought, and Civilization, is a fascinating and well-grounded exposition of the nature and power of recursionIn its ultra-reasonable way, this is quite a revolutionary book because it attacks key notions about language and thought. Most notably, it disputes the idea, argued especially by linguist Noam Chomsky, that thought is fundamentally linguistic--in other words, you need language before you can have thoughts."--Liz Else, New Scientist "Michael Corballis has written a delightful book that makes an important contribution to our understanding of the emergence of our unique capacity to communicate using a verbal generative language... Although I do not agree entirely with all of Corballis' positions, I do subscribe to most of them. More importantly I admire the way in which he formulates issues worth thinking about, which alone makes his contribution very valuable. I am happy to recommend this book to both lay readers and experts in the field."--Robert K. Logan, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development "Engaging."--Australian "The book nicely represents current trends in evolution-based cognitive science and presupposes very little by way of background."--Mark Aronoff, Quarterly Review of Biology
Michael C. Corballis is professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His books include "From Hand to Mouth: The Origins of Language" (Princeton) and "A Very Short Tour of the Mind: 21 Short Walks around the Human Brain".
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780691145471 |
| ISBN 10 | 0691145474 |
| Title | The Recursive Mind |
| Author | Michael C Corballis |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Princeton University Press |
| Year published | 2011-05-08 |
| Number of pages | 304 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |