Numbers, Language, and the Human Mind [Hardcover]

This 2003 book discusses the relationship between numerical thinking and the human language faculty.What constitutes our number concept? What makes it possible for us to employ numbers the way we do; which mental faculties contribute to our grasp of numbers? What do we share with other species, and what is specific to humans? This book addresses these questions and shows that language plays a crucial role in the emergence of a systematic number concept. It discusses the relationship between numerical thinking and the human language faculty, providing psychological, linguistic, and philosophical perspectives on number, its evolution, and its development in children.What constitutes our number concept? What makes it possible for us to employ numbers the way we do; which mental faculties contribute to our grasp of numbers? What do we share with other species, and what is specific to humans? This book addresses these questions and shows that language plays a crucial role in the emergence of a systematic number concept. It discusses the relationship between numerical thinking and the human language faculty, providing psychological, linguistic, and philosophical perspectives on number, its evolution, and its development in children.What constitutes our concept of numbers and makes it possible for us to work with them the way we do? Which mental faculties contribute to our grasp? What qualities do we share with other species, and which ones are specific to us? This book addresses these questions to reveal that language plays a crucial role in the development of systematic number concepts. It analyzes the relationship between numerical thinking and the human language faculty, providing psychological, linguistic, and philosophical perspectives on numbers, their evolution, and development in children.Introduction; 1. Numbers and objects; 2. What does it mean to be a number?; 3. Can words be numbers?; 4. The language legacy; 5. Children's route to number: from iconic representlÃ4