The Stuff of Thought - Language as a Window into Human Nature

Das faszinierende Porträt unseres Geistes
Wie kommt man direkt an das Denken heran? Über die Sprache. In ihr liegen unsere Vorstellungen von Raum und Zeit begründet, von Sex und Intimität, von Macht und Fairness. Bestsellerautor Steven Pinker sieht sich daher die alltägliche Sprachverwendung genau an unsere Gespräche, Witze, Rechtsstreitigkeiten und zeichnet ein lebendiges und überraschendes Porträt unseres Geistes und der menschlichen Natur. Mit viel Esprit, Sprachgefühl und Beispielen aus Alltag und Popkultur gelingt es ihm, schwierige Sachverhalte einfach und überzeugend zu erklären und uns zu einem neuen Blick auf uns selbst zu bewegen.

Kurzbeschreibung:

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 verbs speak to our notions of matter. Even the names we give our babies have important things to say about our relations to our children and to society.

With his signature wit and style, Pinker takes on scientific questions like whether language affects thought, as well as forays into everyday life - why is bulk e-mail called spam and how do romantic comedies get such mileage out of the ambiguities of dating? The Stuff of Thought is a brilliantly crafted and highly readable work that will appeal to fans of readers of everything from The Selfish Gene and Blink to Eats, Shoo ts & Leaves.

Klappentext:

This New York Times bestseller is an exciting and fearless investigation of language from the author of Rationality, The Better Angels of Our Nature and The Sense of Style and Enlightenment Now.

"Curious, inventive, fearless, naughty."
--The New York Times Book Review

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 popular science writers. In The Stuff of Thought, Pinker presents a fascinating look at how our words explain our nature. Considering scientific questions with examples from everyday life, The Stuff of Thought is a brilliantly crafted and highly readable work that will appeal to fans of everything from The Selfish Gene and Blink to Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

Rezension:

"Engaging and provocative...filled with humor and fun."
-Douglas Hofstadter, Los Angeles Times

"Pinker is a star, and the world of science is lucky to have him."
--Richard Dawkins

"Curious, inventive, fearless, naughty."
-New York Times Book Review

"An important and inviting book."
--Science

"There's plenty of stuff to think about, but a lot of fun stuff too."
-Boston Globe

"Fascinating."
Wired

"Unfailingly engaging to read."
--New York Review of Books