Knowingo
Try 7 days free
The cover of The Symbolic Species

The Symbolic Species

Terrence W. Deacon

Why is human language unlike any animal call, and how did the human brain and language shape each other?

Get the app Read on the web

At a glance

Author
Terrence W. Deacon

Why read it

  • You will be able to answer a child who asks whether animals have languages of their own
  • You will learn what sets human language apart, such as the speed of speech and rules that are hard to explain
  • You will see language as something that shaped the human brain over time, not only a product of it

Who it is for

  • A parent asked hard questions by a curious child
  • A reader of science who wants the origin of language explained
  • A student of linguistics or psychology looking for a bigger picture

Contents

  1. Preface
  2. The Symbolic Species
  3. PART ONE
  4. Language
  5. CHAPTER ONE
  6. The Human Paradox
  7. CHAPTER TWO
  8. A Loss for Words
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. Symbols Aren’t Simple
  11. CHAPTER FOUR
  12. Outside the Brain
  13. PART TWO
  14. Brain
  15. CHAPTER FIVE
  16. The Size of Intelligence
  17. CHAPTER SIX
  18. Growing Apart
  19. CHAPTER SEVEN
  20. A Darwinian Electrician
  21. CHAPTER EIGHT
  22. The Talking Brain
  23. CHAPTER NINE
  24. Symbol Minds
  25. CHAPTER TEN
  26. Locating Language
  27. PART THREE
  28. Co-Evolution
  29. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  30. And the Word Became Flesh
  31. CHAPTER TWELVE
  32. Symbolic Origins
  33. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  34. A Serendipitous Mind
  35. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  36. Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On
  37. Additional Readings

More books like this