Synopsis "Language, Cognition, and Human Nature "

Language, Cognition, and Human Nature collects together for the first time much of Steven Pinker's most influential scholarly work on language and cognition. Pinker's seminal research explores the workings of language and its connections to cognition, perception, social relationships, child development, human evolution, and theories of human nature. This eclectic collection spans Pinker's thirty-year career, exploring his favorite themes in greater depth and scientific detail. It includes thirteen of Pinker's classic articles, ranging over topics such as language development in children, mental imagery, the recognition of shapes, the computational architecture of the mind, the meaning and uses of verbs, the evolution of language and cognition, the nature-nurture debate, and the logic of innuendo and euphemism. Each outlines a major theory or takes up an argument with another prominent scholar, such as Stephen Jay Gould, Noam Chomsky, or Richard Dawkins. Featuring a new introduction by Pinker that discusses his books and scholarly work, this collection reflects essential contributions to cognitive science by one of our leading thinkers and public intellectuals.

Steven Pinker

(Author)

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Steven Pinker (Montreal, Canada, September 18, 1954) is one of the most influential psychologists, linguists, and science communicators internationally. With a PhD from Harvard and currently a professor at that university, his work has revolutionized the understanding of language, the mind, and human nature, advocating theories about linguistic instincts, the evolution of thought, and the power of reason. Among his most famous books are The Language Instinct (1994), How the Mind Works (1997, Pulitzer finalist), The Blank Slate (2002), The Better Angels of Our Nature (2011), Enlightenment Now (2018), and Rationality (2021), essential works addressing everything from the reduction of violence to the role of humanism and science in social progress.

Recognized for his rigor and clarity of exposition, Pinker has been included among the world's most influential thinkers by Time, Foreign Policy, and Prospect. He has received accolades such as the William James Book Prize (three times), the Los Angeles Times Science Book Prize, the George Miller Prize, the Humanist of the Year, and the Frontiers of Knowledge Award from the BBVA Foundation (2022). He was a Pulitzer finalist on two occasions and has received honorary doctorates in various countries. His work as a communicator and his defense of critical thinking and empirical evidence have established him as an essential voice for understanding the mind and human progress in the 21st century.

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