The neural mind : how brains think / George Lakoff and Srini Narayanan.
| Author/creator | Lakoff, George author. |
| Other author | Narayanan, Srini (Srinivas Sankara), author. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication | Chicago, IL : The University of Chicago Press, 2025. |
| Copyright Date | ©2025 |
| Description | x, 408 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Preface -- What it takes to create human thought. The creation of perception: color ; what are ideas? ; The brain's tool kit ; The body is neural ; Dual models ; Generalizations ; Functional generalization ; Cascades ; Convergence-divergence zones ; Explaining basic-level concepts ; Sound symbolism ; Creating perception: seeing, feeling, and hearing ; The takeaways -- How thought works. From motor control to thought ; The big surprise: aspect is motor control ; Image schemas: starting with Kant ; On schemas ; Schema embodiment ; Thinking with schemas ; Frames ; The 2,500-year-old theory ; Conceptual metaphor ; Scales and their logic ; Primary embodied metaphor ; Metaphor and neuroscience ; Conceptual integration and consciousness ; Categories ; The takeaways -- The neural mechanisms of thought. Scope and challenges ; Neural firing: the basic steps ; What is structured neural computational modeling? ; Basic circuit types ; Coordination and cascades: evidence from behavior control ; Combinatorial circuits ; Multiple mapping circuits ; Control and coordination circuits ; Integrative circuits and simulation ; Simulation in language and thought ; The takeaways ; Applying the neural theory -- Neural language. Thinking neurally about language ; Basic circuit types in grammar ; The scope and power of ideas in grammar due to circuits for ideas ; Embedding and composition ; The coordination of multiple circuits in grammar ; Lexicon and grammar ; There is no natural language without meaning ; Early intimations of integration in grammar ; Case study 1: one-anaphora ; Case study 2: cascades of metaphors ; Case study 3: looking over without overlooking ; Language types and embodiment ; The two-type language contrast ; How ideas spread ; Neural phonology ; The takeaways ; Afterword: the neural mind versus deep learning AI. |
| Abstract | "Offers an expansive, unified theory of thought that brings together the vast resources of neuroscience, computation, and cognitive linguistics. What is an idea, and where does it come from? We experience thought as if it were abstract, but every thought is actually a physical thing, carried out by the neural systems of our brains. Thought does not occur neuron-by-neuron; it happens when neurons come together to form circuits and when simple circuits combine to form complex ones. Thoughts, then, derive their structures from the circuitry we also use for vision, touch, and hearing. This circuitry is what allows simple thoughts to come together into complex concepts, making meaning, creating metaphors, and framing our social and political ideas. With The Neural Mind, George Lakoff, a pioneering cognitive linguist, and computer scientist Srini Narayanan deftly combine insights from cognitive science, computational modeling, and linguistics to show how thoughts arise from the neural circuitry that runs throughout our bodies. They answer key questions about the ways we make meaning: How does neural circuitry create the conceptual "frames" through which we understand our social lives? What kind of neural circuitry characterizes metaphorical thought, in which ideas are understood in terms of other ideas with similar structures? Lively and accessible, the book shows convincingly that the "metaphors we live by"-to use Lakoff's famous phrase-aren't abstractions but deeply embodied neural constructs"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| LCCN | 2024046695 |
| ISBN | 9780226835884 hardcover |
| ISBN | 022683588X hardcover |
| ISBN | electronic book |
| Standard identifier# | CIPO000243886 |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joyner | General Stacks | QP360.5 .L35 2025 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |