Language, Thought and Consciousness : An Essay in Philosophical Psychology

Rating:
Summary: the gift of language
Review: The thesis contained in this book will not please all, but it will please some. It certainly pleased me. Peter Carruthers, in this book, defends the view that the languages in which we speak are more than a simple tool for communication. Language, he argues, creates consciousness in human beings. ie, take away language, and you take away much of what it means to be human. The book is fairly heavyweight in terms of its academic credibility, and contains much vivid discussion of some the ideas aruond in philosophical cognition around today (eg Fodor, Searle, Dennett). However, it is not a difficult read. If you are intestested in what makes us human, then this book is for you.