In an exclusive preview of his book The Stuff of Thought, Steven Pinker looks at language and how it expresses what goes on in our minds — and how the words we choose communicate much more than we realize.
In watching this video (18 minutes) take notes. In doing so, consider the following questions:
- What is the relationship between language and thought?
- What is the relationship between language and human interaction?
- How and why do we “veil” our speech?
- How would the human experience (both personal and political) be different if language only had literal/direct connotations?
- What is Pinker’s thesis and what is philosophical about it?
Bring your notes and your responses to these questions to our next session.
