Mind Your Language: Thought, Metaphor and Imagination

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Noam Chomsky, Steven Pinker, Evelina Fedorenko, and Daniel Dor join Brian Greene to grapple with the foundations of language.

Language ranks among the most powerful influences on human existence. Even so, language presents many mysteries that are the subject of heated debate. Was there a rewiring of the human brain which gave us the capacity for language? Or is it a human invention developed to facilitate group cooperation? Is language primarily a communication tool or the substrate of inner thought? And how is it that with a few choice phrases language can fire the imagination or transport us to the stars?

The Big Ideas Series is supported by the John Templeton Foundation.

Participants:
Noam Chomsky
Evelina Fedorenko
Daniel Dor
Steven Pinker

Moderator:
Brian Greene

Category
Science
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