Summary
Steven Pinker argues that language reveals our fundamental human nature by examining how words reflect our concepts of space, time, matter, emotions, and relationships. The book explores specific linguistic phenomena, like the use of prepositions and tenses to understand space and time, and the connection between swearing and emotions, or innuendo and relationships. Pinker demonstrates how everyday language, from baby names to email labels like "spam," offers insights into human cognition and social dynamics. Readers will understand how specific linguistic choices, such as the naming of things or the use of certain grammatical structures, are not arbitrary but deeply tied to human thought and interaction.
The book examines how language affects thought by analyzing everyday examples, such as the origin of the term "spam" for bulk email and the function of romantic comedies in exploring dating ambiguities. Pinker connects language to human nature by showing how our vocabulary and grammar are expressions of our inherent ways of perceiving the world and relating to each other. The reader gains an understanding of the underlying cognitive and social principles that shape our communication.
Key concepts
- Language and thought — The relationship where linguistic structures and choices influence cognitive processes.
- Prepositions and tenses — Grammatical elements used to reveal human concepts of space and time.
- Swearing and emotions — How expletives offer insight into our emotional states.
- Innuendo and relationships — The way suggestive language discloses information about social connections.
- Nouns and verbs and matter — How the categories of words we use reflect our understanding of the physical world.
- Baby names and society — The significance of personal nomenclature in expressing social relationships.
From the book
Description: New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker possesses that rare combination of scientific aptitude and verbal eloquence that enables him to provide lucid explanations of deep and powerful ideas. His previous books—including the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Blank Slate—have catapulted him into the limelight as one of today's most important and popular science writers.Now, in The Stuff of Thought, Pinker marries two of the subjects he knows best: language and human nature. The result is a fascinating look at how our words explain our nature. What does swearing reveal about our emotions? Why does innuendo disclose something about relationships? Pinker reveals how our use of prepositions and tenses taps into peculiarly human concepts of space and time, and how our nouns and…