Principles of Language and Mind

First published in 1985, Principles of Language and Mind presents a systematic and original account of the principles which enable us to understand the origin, primary functions, and later development of human language. It also clarifies the way in which this development underpins another: that of the distinctively human form of intelligence which we call mind.

The progressive complications of both language and conceptual thought―from common speech and everyday thinking to the higher forms of theoretical discourse and understanding―are shown to have a perfectly clear explanation, made possible by new application of evolutionary principles in fields that have traditionally resisted such an approach. The author examines a complex of problems variously referred to as linguistic, psychological, logical, and epistemological, along with others concerning myth, metaphysics, causality, and mathematics. He shows that these problems are so interrelated that they can be solved only in the context of a naturalistic―that is, evolutionary―conception of human psychology. He demonstrates that this in turn is possible only on the basis of a systematic theory of language.

The theory presented fills serious gaps in modern evolutionary thinking and also in the study of humanities. A theory of evolution which cannot explain the emergence of the mind that conceived it, and theories of mind which sever human intelligence from its biological roots, are equally useless for an understanding of human nature and human problems.