Tag: stevenpinker

I have read the sample version of The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker on my Kindle with keen interest on the subject because it chimes the bells of my soul and heart. This book is a polyphonic work of cognitive science interwoven by multiple strands of biology, history, sociology, psychology and philosophy that tells the truth of the nature of language and why it is a product of human evolutionary biological adaptation, not a socially engineering gizmo that shapes our thoughts. It’s a consilience of the knowledge of science and humanities, vis-à-vis linguistic determinism that we all have been conditioned to believe. Also, the knowledge of a language does not equate one’s level of intelligence because it is the Instinct. Which I find very encouraging and stimulating, for as someone whose English is a second language, the frustration of grammatical errors should not dispirit my spirit and make my heart feel cloddish and slow-witted.