Mind Design and Minimal Syntax
Abstract
Abstract This book introduces generative grammar as an area of study, asking what it tells us about the human mind. It lays the foundation for the unification of modern generative linguistics with the philosophies of mind and language. It introduces Chomsky's program of a ‘minimalist’ syntax as a novel explanatory vision of the human mind. It explains how the Minimalist Program originated from work in cognitive science, biology, linguistics, and philosophy, and examines its implications for work in these fields. It also considers the way the human mind is designed when seen as an arrangement of structural patterns in nature, and argues that its design is the product not so much of adaptive evolutionary history as of principles and processes that are historical and internalist in character. The book suggests that linguistic meaning arises in the mind as a consequence of structures emerging on formal rather than functional grounds. From this, the book substantiates an unexpected and deeply unfashionable notion of human nature. It also provides an insight into the nature and aims of Chomsky's Minimalist Program.
Cite this
Wolfram Hinzen (2006). Mind Design and Minimal Syntax. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199289257.001.0001
@book{wolfram2006mind,
title = {Mind Design and Minimal Syntax},
author = {Hinzen, Wolfram},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199289257.001.0001}
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