Language And Human Understanding: The Roots Of Creativity In Speech And Thought Hardcover

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David Braine

Human speech and writing reveal our powers both to generalize and to criticize our own procedures. For this we must use words non-mechanically and with a freedom without definite limits, but still allowing mutual intelligibility. Such powers cannot be simulated by any possible physical mechanism, and this shows that human beings in our acts of judgment and understanding transcend the body. Philosopher, psychologist and linguist are all concerned with natural language. Accordingly, in seeking a unified view, Braine draws on insights from all these fields, sifting through the discordant schools of linguists. He concludes that one extended logic or "integrated semantic syntax" shapes grammar, but without constricting languages to being of one grammatical type.

9780813221748

English

The Catholic University Of America Press

28 Feb 2014

808

David Braine is an Honorary Research Fellow at The University of Aberdeen's School of Divinity, History And Philosophy.