In “Aspects of the Theory of Syntax,” published in 1965, Chomsky presents his famous distinction between deep structure and surface structure. Deep structure consists of the underlying meaning of a sentence, while surface structure is the actual form that the sentence takes. This book had a major impact on linguistics and cognitive science and helped … Read more
In Language and Mind, Chomsky argues that all human languages share a core set of grammatical rules. He also posits that language acquisition is largely determined by innate factors. The book had a major impact on linguistics, cognitive science, philosophy, and politics. The reason why this book had such a significant impact is because Chomsky … Read more
Over the past century, psychology has become one of the most respected and widely-studied scientific disciplines. In recent years, psychologists have made groundbreaking strides in our understanding of human behavior, cognition, and emotion. While the field of psychology has come a long way, there is still much to learn. For example, psychologists are just beginning … Read more
To say that the works of Malcolm Gladwell are popular would be something of an understatement. For better or for worse, his books have had a major impact on the way that people think about a wide variety of topics, from the power of first impressions to the importance of “little things.” If you’re interested … Read more
The Principles of Psychology is a book written by William James and published in 1890. The book covers a wide range of topics concerning the human mind and behavior. The first main idea is that the human mind is very complex. James argues that there are many different factors that contribute to a person’s behavior. … Read more
Near-death experiences are fairly common among survivors of cardiac arrest and other severe medical conditions. Near- death experiences captured worldwide attention in 1976 and they have held the public’s interest and stoked their imagination continually since then What are NDE’s? What happens to consciousness during the act of dying? Our best answer comes from people … Read more
Promiscuity Women’s preferences for short term mates suggests that they use casual sex to evaluate potential husbands. If they only wanted short-term mates for opportunistic sex, as many men do, then certain characteristics (such as promiscuity, commitment) would not bother women. Like men, women would find promiscuity in a prospective lover to be neutral or … Read more
Resources The gist of this section is that men are one long breeding experiment run by women. Women look for men to gain access to resources. Buss explains this because sex-role socialization of women throughout history. In primitive culture, men with the most land attract the most wives. Globally, women usually marry men who are … Read more
Zizek in How to Read Lacan does not merely articulate the philosophy of Lacan but adds his own philosophical slant. The book begins with a description of a major development that occurred at the turn of the millennium in the year 2000. With new advances in the brain sciences, there was a proclamation of the … Read more
The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker is about the nature of the human mind. Throughout history, there have been many different conceptualizations about the human mind, and these have had real consequences of politics, law, ethics, relationships, and religion. The way in which we choose to define the human mind is no mere intellectual exercise. … Read more