Specific Universals

This chapter continues the theme of human embodiment in the world, moving beyond language to groundedness, by which I mean the connection an animal has to the ground, dirt, the earth. Humans, in the course of their evolution, stood up and left the ground,

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WHAT

IS A Language, Mind, and Culture

HUMAN?

What Is a Human?

James Paul Gee

What Is a Human? Language, Mind, and Culture

James Paul Gee Arizona State University Tempe, AZ, USA

ISBN 978-3-030-50381-9 ISBN 978-3-030-50382-6 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50382-6

(eBook)

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: iaodesign Cover design by eStudioCalamar This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

After a nearly 50-year career as an academic, I retired on January 1, 2020. I did this not just because I got old, but because I profoundly lost faith in business as usual. As I went home, the rest of the world retired with me to their homes because of a long predicted pandemic that was one of many signs in the recent past that we humans need to get smarter, more moral, and become better problem solvers, and do so fast, if we are to survive as a species. I dedicate this book—partly personal, partly academic, partly a product of the Wild Hunt—to all my fellow humans who are as vexed by humans, themselves included, as I am and who want to reconnect with animals, the ground, and shared life before it is too late.

Preface

This is a personal book. It asks a question I deeply care about: What is a human? I am 71 and near the end of a long career as an academic. In my career, I have worked on a lot of different topics. I have studied language structure (“grammar”); language processing (“psycholinguistics”); and language in use (“discourse analysis”). I have studied language and learning in cognitive, affective, social, cultural, institutional, and political contex

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