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The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature (Hardcover)

by Steven Pinker (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 512 pages
  • Publisher: Allen Lane; 1st edition (27 Sep 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0713997419
  • ISBN-13: 978-0713997415
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.2 x 4.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 153,431 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Independent

`Immensely readable and stimulating. Pinker is a master at making complex ideas palatable'


Daily Mail

`Awesome ... Pinker writes lucidly and elegantly, and leavens the text with scores of perfectly judged anecdotes, jokes, cartoons and illustrations'
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Inside This Book (Learn More)
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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The Stuff of Thought:: Language as a Window into Human Nature (Penguin Press Science)
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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, 23 Jul 2008
By ds (Whitby, UK) - See all my reviews
  
This review is from: The Stuff of Thought:: Language as a Window into Human Nature (Penguin Press Science) (Paperback)
In all honesty, this is the first of Steven Pinker's books that I've read, coming to him roundabout through Noam Chomsky and a couple of other sources. It is a great book though, it has to be admitted, not what you would call a holiday pulp read.

If you don't have a background in linguistics (I don't but have a keen interest) then some of the early chapters about speech parsing, which form the foundation for much to come are (by necessity) fairly technical, and might be slightly heavy going. That said, even these parts are written lucidly and attempt to make the material more accessible to a wider audience, largely with some success.

Inevitably, the most accessible parts of the book come when talking about naming (with a slight crossover with Leavitt and Dubner's excellent Freakonomics) and swearing. There's a nice little sidestep in this chapter when Pinker starts by appearing to be squeamish about introducing the words under discussion before finally laying them out in all their "glory". Another section I found interesting was his critique of some of the alternative theories of language acquisition currently in circulation, where he managed to present many of the competing ideas in as fair a way as I think he could, though it was made clear where his own standpoint was.

If you have an interest in linguistics or some of the psychology surrounding it, then I think this book is one you should have no reservations about purchasing.
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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful words, 19 Jan 2008
By Peter Bracken (France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Pinker has done it again; another book of mesmerising intelligence and very smart ideas. But be warned: this book is not easy to digest, notwithstanding the lucidity of the writing. But then it deserves to be read very closely indeed: there is so much punch and weight on almost every page.

Pinker has already destroyed the simplistic notion that human nature is a social phenomenon, demonstrating how much of our behaviour and psychology is a product of our genetic evolution, and therefore instinctive.

In this book, he shows how language has evolved to reflect the mental concepts we have developed to make sense of the world: that is to say, although the real world may exist 'out there', it is mediated through our senses and the brain's interpretation of the data that they send to it. The concepts relate to time and space, matter and causality - and these concepts have been woven into our language. Pinker shows how, and does so in his characteristically enthusiastic, witty fashion.

A fabulous read and an intellectual treat.
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11 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Pointless, 11 Nov 2007
By Arthur Koch "sculptor" (Impruneta, Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window Into Human Nature (Paperback)
I can hardly believe that the same person who wrote "The Language Instinct" and "The Blank Slate" wrote this. At least half of the book is dedicated to a detailed division of words into minute catagories, in excruciating detail. This would be acceptable if there were a point, but no, its all academic deadwood, designed to put off as many would be semantic students as possible. I finished this book no wiser than before, with only a few anecdotes to the better.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Theoretical discussion of language
Steven Pinker's enthusiasm about language comes through everywhere in this book - which is a good thing, because the subject matter itself is dense and complex. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Rolf Dobelli

5.0 out of 5 stars Theoretical discussion of language
Steven Pinker's enthusiasm about language comes through everywhere in this book - which is a good thing, because the subject matter itself is dense and complex. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Rolf Dobelli

5.0 out of 5 stars Great stuff!
Steven Pinker was already one of my favourite authors before this book propelled him into another league. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ms. J. S. Rees

5.0 out of 5 stars A Magnificently Mind-Enriching Tour-de-Force
This is a truly remarkable book. Pinker has a way of making a reader think simply about complex concepts, using a writing style that is entertaining and stimulating in itself, as... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Clifford

4.0 out of 5 stars A whistle-stop tour of cognitive linguistics
Well, quite a whirlwind, this one. It took me over a year to read it (seriously) and I did this kind of stuff for my degree. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mr Anonymous

2.0 out of 5 stars Pedantry for the seriously pedantic!
If you are a student of linguistics or a card-holding member of the English Pedantry Society, this is a must-have. Read more
Published 12 months ago by David R. Beck

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