Dimensions
128 x 198 x 21mm
Why is human language so unique? Why have other species even those capable of complicated modes of communication, not evolved a simple form of language? In this exhilarating and truly original book, Terrence Deacon shows that language depends on the ability to think with symbols, which enable us, through symbolic representation, to enter a world of abstractions, impossibilities and paradoxes. In exploring the co-evolution of language and the brain, Deacon throws valuable light on the spectacular emergence of human consciousness.