Michael Tomasello Book order

"A scientific analysis of agency in the real world-which animal types have it and which don't-written by the top researcher in the field"-- Provided by publisher

Winner of the William James Book Award “Magisterial...Makes an impressive argument that most distinctly human traits are established early in childhood and that the general chronology in which these traits appear can at least—and at last—be identified.” —Wall Street Journal “Theoretically daring and experimentally ingenious, Becoming Human squarely tackles the abiding question of what makes us human.” —Susan Gelman, University of Michigan Virtually all theories of how humans have become such a distinctive species focus on evolution. Becoming Human proposes a complementary theory of human uniqueness, focused on development. Building on the seminal ideas of Vygotsky, it explains how those things that make us most human are constructed during the first years of a child’s life. In this groundbreaking work, Michael Tomasello draws from three decades of experimental research with chimpanzees, bonobos, and children to propose a new framework for psychological growth between birth and seven years of age. He identifies eight pathways that differentiate humans from their primate relatives: social cognition, communication, cultural learning, cooperative thinking, collaboration, prosociality, social norms, and moral identity. In each of these, great apes possess rudimentary abilities, but the maturation of humans’ evolved capacities for shared intentionality transform these abilities into uniquely human cognition and sociality.

The evolution of human moral psychology is meticulously explored through experimental comparisons between great apes and human children. Michael Tomasello outlines two pivotal evolutionary steps: first, the necessity for early humans to collaborate for survival led to the development of joint intentionality and shared commitments. Second, as populations grew, complex divisions of labor fostered cultural identities, resulting in collective intentionality and established norms of morality. This dual process shaped contemporary humans' ability to engage in both personal and communal moral frameworks.

"The Classic Edition of The New Psychology of Language, Volume I will continue to be recommended reading for psychology students and researchers who study psychology, cognitive science, psycholinguistics, and developmental psycholinguistics"--

"The Classic Edition of The New Psychology of Language, Volume I will continue to be recommended reading for psychology students and researchers who study psychology, cognitive science, psycholinguistics, and developmental psycholinguistics"--

A Wall Street Journal Favorite Read of the Year A Guardian Top Science Book of the Year Tool-making or culture, language or religious belief: ever since Darwin, thinkers have struggled to identify what fundamentally differentiates human beings from other animals. In this much-anticipated book, Michael Tomasello weaves his twenty years of comparative studies of humans and great apes into a compelling argument that cooperative social interaction is the key to our cognitive uniqueness. Once our ancestors learned to put their heads together with others to pursue shared goals, humankind was on an evolutionary path all its own. “Michael Tomasello is one of the few psychologists to have conducted intensive research on both human children and chimpanzees, and A Natural History of Human Thinking reflects not only the insights enabled by such cross-species comparisons but also the wisdom of a researcher who appreciates the need for asking questions whose answers generate biological insight. His book helps us to understand the differences, as well as the similarities, between human brains and other brains.” —David P. Barash, Wall Street Journal

Presents an empirically based theory of the evolutionary origins of human communication that challenges the dominant Chomskian view

Understanding cooperation as a distinctly human combination of innate and learned behavior.

Drawing together a vast body of empirical research in cognitive science, linguistics, and developmental psychology, Michael Tomasello demonstrates that we don't need a self-contained language instinct to explain how children learn language. Their linguistic ability is interwoven with other cognitive abilities.

Targeting developmental psychologists, linguists, and speech pathologists, this book explores the acquisition of first verbs in language development. It provides insights into the cognitive and linguistic processes involved, making it a valuable resource for researchers and professionals interested in early language skills. The text emphasizes practical applications and research findings, fostering a deeper understanding of how children learn to use verbs as a foundational aspect of communication.