Review by Choice Review
Carruthers (Univ. of Sheffield) attempts to establish an original theory concerning the relation of thought, language, and consciousness. As opposed to the communicative theory of language held by Fodor, Chomsky, and Pinker, which understands language to be an input/output module used to convey thought, Carruthers argues for a cognitivist approach. He claims that language is constitutive of some conscious thoughts--we cannot think some thoughts without a natural language. However, unlike mainstream cognitivists such as Wittgenstein, Whorf, and Dennett, Carruthers refuses to endorse a social/relativist position that understands mind and language as cultural constructs. Thus, he combines nativist views of language and mind with a cognitivist approach that holds that some conscious thinking necessarily involves language. The argument is presented with convincing force and clarity, making this a work that all philosophers, cognitive scientists, and linguists working in this field must read. Upper-division undergraduate; graduate; faculty. J. H. Riker Colorado College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
