Product Description

In From Molecule to Metaphor, Jerome Feldman proposes a theory of language and thought that treats language not as an abstract symbol system but as a human biological ability that can be studied as a function of the brain, as vision and motor control are studied. This theory, he writes, is a "bridging theory" that works from extensive knowledge at two ends of a causal chain to explicate the links between. Although the cognitive sciences are revealing much about how our brains produce language and thought, we do not yet know exactly how words are understood or have any methodology for finding out. Feldman develops his theory in computer simulations—formal models that suggest ways that language and thought may be realized in the brain. Combining key findings and theories from biology, computer science, linguistics, and psychology, Feldman synthesizes a theory by exhibiting programs that demonstrate the required behavior while remaining consistent with the findings from all disciplines.

After presenting the essential results on language, learning, neural computation, the biology of neurons and neural circuits, and the mind/brain, Feldman introduces specific demonstrations and formal models of such topics as how children learn their first words, words for abstract and metaphorical concepts, understanding stories, and grammar (including "hot-button" issues surrounding the innateness of human grammar). With this accessible, comprehensive book Feldman offers readers who want to understand how our brains create thought and language a theory of language that is intuitively plausible and also consistent with existing scientific data at all levels.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #341144 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780262562355
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Review
"Feldman has a unique perspective on human computation at all levels, drawn from his dual lifelong experiences helping to create modern computer science and bringing deep computational ideas to the study of cognitive science. In this exciting new book, he shows why understanding the most complex computations of the human brain depends on taking account of the ontogeny and phylogeny of our species; and, by doing so, how it might be possible to build a truly embodied cognitive science."
—Steven L. Small, Professor of Neurology and Psychology, The University of Chicago

"How can the brain, a highly structured biological and chemical mechanism, made up of neurons with axons, dendrites, and synapses and that functions via flowing ions and neurotransmitters—how can the physical brain give rise to thought and language? Jerome Feldman, my close colleague in unlocking this puzzle, has given us the first serious theory linking neurobiology to neural computation to cognitive linguistics. From Molecule to Metaphor is an indispensable book for anyone interested in how human beings think, act, and communicate."
—George Lakoff, Goldman Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley

"In From Molecule to Metaphor, Jerome Feldman takes us on a fascinating tour through the mysteries of the human brain, revealing new and unexpected vistas. The ideas are deep, as should be expected from one of the pioneers in the field, but also lucidly presented for the nonspecialist reader."
—V.S. Ramachandran, Professor and Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego

"In his new book From Molecule to Metaphor: A Neural Theory of Language (MIT Press, 2006), cognitive scientist Jerome Feldman constructs an objective, coherent account of language and thought in the broad context of cognitive science research and data in the 21st century. The book is a must read for those interested in interdisciplinary approaches to language and thought."
—Teenie Matlock, PhD, Founding Faculty & Assistant Professor of Cognitive Science, University of California, Merced

"Jerry Feldman's book guides the reader through the most recent developments in neural computational theories of language. His is a thought-provoking book and an important touchstone for those interested in learning how embodiment shapes meaning."
—Vittorio Gallese, Department of Neuroscience, University of Parma

About the Author
Jerome A. Feldman is Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and former Director of the Cognitive Science Program at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Research Scientist at the International Computer Science Institute.

Customer Reviews

Great Presentation of the Brain, the Mind, Language, and Thought
If you read "On Intelligence" [...] and it left you hanging, wanting more, this book is perfect for you. But, be prepared to spend a lot more time thinking.

As the book's title promises, Dr. Feldman walks the reader through an explanation of how language and thought have their roots in chemical reactions at the molecular level, a neuron firing. Through twenty-seven masterfully staged chapters, one is exposed to all of the mind-boggling complexity that leads to communication and understanding. I'm sure that each chapter is deserving of a book of its own but the author has managed to give you just the right exposure in a dozen or so pages.

I read the book over a period of a few weeks as I could seldom dedicate more time in a sitting than what it took me to process one chapter. But, this always left me looking forward to getting back to where I left off. It turned out to be a good approach for me; the book is full of backward references for review, and forward references to keep things in context.

Dr. Feldman takes a low-key approach (little sensationalism, mostly matter-of-fact descriptions) to concepts presented. I enjoyed the journey the book took me on; the highlight for me (background in computer science) was the computer models, the simulations. Computer programs can only do what they are told. So, constructing and running computer models is sure to point out any existing weakness in the author's understanding. But, when they exhibit the proposed behavior, how satisfying!

From the preface:

"This book proposes to begin integrating current insights from many disciplines into a coherent neural theory of language... Understanding language and thought requires combining findings from biology, computer science, linguistics, and psychology... If you want to understand how our brains create thought and language, there is a fair chance that this book can help."

There are nine sections to the book:

I. Embodied Information Processing
II. How the Brain Computes
III. How the Mind Computes
IV. Learning Concrete Words
V. Learning Words for Actions
VI. Abstract and Metaphorical Words
VII. Understanding Stories
VIII. Combining Form and Meaning
IX. Embodied Language

Dr. Feldman has spent twenty-five years working in the area and you can tell from the story he has put together. A very interesting one.

guy

Remarkable, but perhaps too ambitious
This is a remarkable book, albeit possibly too ambitious. Feldman has little use for Chomsky's theory of language (but admires his analysis of language structures). By analogy, he shows the same kinds of arguments could be used to show the ability to dance is genetic, and embodied in its own dedicated brain structure, as to say language is. What Feldman is about, though, is not to engage in polemics, but to attempt to develop a theory of language which draws on current knowledge and perspectives from a variety of fields. In fact, he says tongue in cheek, "the human genome does seem to code for a tendency to engage in bitter (academic) wars that are senseless to an outsider".

The key point is that any theory of language should reflect what we know about neuro-science. He implicitly makes the case that mastering language, while a wonderful achievement, is not much more amazing than mastering visual interpretation. There is a progression: one learns to control one's body, then use many of the same "mirror" neurons to interpret visually movements by others, than use many of the same neurons to give meaning to language describing movement. Grammar is a link between language and meaning, and is first learned by "matching sentences to what the child already knows visually". More abstract uses of language build on schema's for movement and emotional experience by way of metaphor, and Feldman does a wonderful job in giving the reader a great feel for how metaphor works, and how metaphor builds on past mastery of other metaphors organized in "cultural frames", and the role of parameterization.

Feldman may be overly ambitious in trying to communicate too much of the technical underpinnings, so that the reader sometimes gets bogged down. He does a nice job in giving some basics of neuro-science such as Hebb's rule for how neural connections are developed and embody learning. He nicely shows how triangular nodes can be used to represent and retrieve facts, and the neural basis for the well known concept of priming, in which visual or verbal cues impacts subsequent interpretation of language, when the two follow closely in time. However, he is less successful with belief networks, and "PDP connectionism" (what is known in other fields as neural network algorithms). Feldman uses the approach of providing toy problems, i.e. very simplified examples, and sometimes this just is not sufficient to get a real feel for things.

Deep Thoughts on the Relation between the Brain and the Mind
"How do our brains compute our minds?" If you have thought about this question, and even if you haven't, you will likely find this book fascinating. Dr. Feldman's answer is a theory developed after years of research by his group at U. C. Berkeley and workers at other places that holds that the embodiment of all thought, and of language in particular, is central to how this works.

While I certainly wouldn't classify this book as bedtime reading, these ideas are presented with great care so that the non-specialist reader can grasp the big picture, even if he doesn't get every detail. The details are there, so the book would also be useful to researchers and students, but Feldman charts a course through them so the layman (like me) can focus on the central notions and not get lost in nor be intimidated by the wealth of information provided.

And what a picture it is - the Neural Theory of Language (NTL) is shown to be consistent with all the experimental findings from relevant disciplines, and to provide a framework that allows for further work where the outstanding scientific questions can be posed with precision. Computer programs are described based on the NTL that have achieved remarkable results, and the ongoing work to address their shortcomings is exhilarating in its promise.

The writing is clear and straightforward, and Dr. Feldman displays flashes of wry humor and a becoming sense of humility regarding what they are about. This is meaty stuff, but if you are interested in doing some thinking about thinking, I definitely recommend this book.