Listen free for 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Language and the Mind cover art

Language and the Mind

Written by: Spencer D. Kelly, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Spencer D. Kelly
Try for $0.00

$14.95 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $43.80

Buy Now for $43.80

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

What is our species' greatest invention? Medicine, computers, space travel? Not even close. The innovation that underlies each of our past achievements and those we still aspire to is language. Language is the ultimate invention of Homo sapiens - one that has allowed us to change the physical and social world around us in every conceivable way, and an invention that has fundamentally changed us, as well. Research has shown that whether we're sighted or blind, hearing or deaf, one or one hundred years old, communication through language is a fundamental part of what it means to be human. 

In 24 fascinating lectures, Dr. Spencer Kelly, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Colgate University, takes us on a fascinating journey into so many aspects of life we take for granted every day: our ability to remember the past and imagine a future, our use of hand gestures and facial expressions in communication, our capacity for storytelling, and so much more. You will explore fascinating questions, such as the origin of the human mind, what makes our communication so much different than other animals, whether or not language itself influences thought, and how babies learn their native language without direct teaching. You will follow along, finding yourself intrigued, surprised, and enthralled by it all because...you possess the power of language.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 The Great Courses (P)2020 The Teaching Company, LLC

What listeners say about Language and the Mind

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    14
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    14
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    13
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Warning: ableist ahead

The first ten lectures were great.

Then he got into autism and theory of mind.

I got so angry at his incredibly dehumanising, ableist and outdated perspective (the study by Simon Baron Cohen that he cites is from 1985 and is poorly supported) that I quit in the middle of lcture 11.

This guy is a scientist. He should know , and do, better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Super interesting

This is my favourite course from The Great Courses until now. I found it very refreshing since I am surrounded by generativists (I’m a linguistics PhD student). I believe it would have been suitable for a neophyte as well. The ideas are well organized and the PDF and references give the possibility to read further. I recommend this course.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!