How the Mind Works

Steven Pinker is a leading authority on cognitive science and linguistics. In this exhilarating book he explores the machinery of the mind – its origins and development, and how we use it to see, think, feel, interact and grapple with the mysteries of our existence. What is happiness? Why do phobias of spiders and peanut butter exist? How is it that memories fade? Why do we fall in love? What makes us laugh? And why do people believe in ghosts and spirits? Pinker answers these imponderables by drawing from a number of ideas about the mind – in particular the evolutionary theory – and crafts them into a gripping, cohesive account of human psychology.