Where Politics and Language Meet: Lakoff v. Pinker

[pegkerr]

Here's an interesting kerfluffle: Stephen Pinker wrote a pretty excoriating review of George Lakoff's latest book Whose Freedom?: The Battle over America's Most Important Idea. Lakoff's rebuttal is here. I haven't read the book, although I read and enjoyed Lakoff's previous work Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think, and I have only skimmed Pinker's attack here and Lakoff's rebuttal, but they certainly look interesting. (Comments? minnehaha B? sleigh? cakmpls? Bueller?)

Comments

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Frankly I've come across a lot of criticism of the Lakoff book (which I haven't read) and I am so impressed by Pinker's books in general that I am inclined to give him the benefit of any doubts - full faith, in fact.

The subject of language use and its relationship to ideology is fascinating and sometimes scary.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Not having read the book, I'm not qualified to comment, except to say that I would agree with Lakoff that how one 'frames' a debate has a lot to do with how the general public creates their opinion. Bush's team seems to understand (and use) that concept to great effect.