Gesture and Thought

Sherman Wilcox

“With Gesture and Thought, David McNeill again demonstrates his status as a pioneer in the field of cognitive psychology and linguistics. Here he has developed a new theory of language and gesture in which gesture is seen as integral to language. In doing so, he has not merely grafted gesture onto language, but has reexamined and redefined our understanding of language, thought, and gesture. Gesture and Thought is a book of profound importance, destined to change the way we think about human language, gesture, and thought.”

Rafael Nunez

“Expanding the field he helped create more than twenty years ago, David McNeill gives us, in Gesture and Thought, a deep and insightful account of how the mind is intrinsically embodied. Gestures—pervasive and dramatically ignored—are in themselves thoughts. If you still think that human minds can be emulated or even surpassed by computers, read this book! A must for anybody interested in language, thought, and the elusive intricacies of the mind-body problem.”--Rafael Núñez, University of California, San Diego

 

 

Cornelia Muller

“In this eagerly awaited book, David McNeill presents a unified theory of language, speech, gesture, and thought. Until this book, no one had ever attempted to formulate a theoretical framework to explain why gesture and speech appear so tightly linked, nor had anyone considered how an integration of gesture and speech might affect linguistic theory. Here, McNeill challenges traditional concepts in psychology and linguistics by arguing for the integration of body and mind and of dynamic and static aspects of language and thought—as opposed to separating them. This is a radically innovative work that will become a classic in psychology, cognitive science, linguistics, and anthropology. After having read it nobody will ever be able to think that the body and the mind are separate things again.”--Cornelia Müller, Free University of Berlin

 

 

Leonardo - Rudolf Arnheim

“David McNeill’s book is a momentous contribution to our understanding of kinetic and visual expression. . . . McNeill’s detailed descriptions of how gestures represent ideas contribute greatly to our understanding of images as carriers of abstractions.”

PsycCritiques - Theresa A. Thorkildsen

"By defending his reasons for studying gesture, offering a wide range of evidence to support conclusions about the imagery-language dialect, and illustrating how language is inextricably connected to social contexts, McNeill helps readers see why many scholars are no longer interested in parsing out the effects of nature and nurture on human functioning."

Gesture - Raymond W. Gibbs

"I am unable to adequately convey in words, or gesture, my admiration for this book, and generally believe that Gesture & Thought offers a major advancement in gesture studies with broad theoretical implications for comprehensive theories of embodied cognition and communication. . . . This is not just a book for gesture scholars, but one that all cognitive scientists would greatly benefit from reading. . . . A great example of interdisciplinary scholarship at its best, and [it] will undoubtedly stand the test of time as a classic in the study of human minds and communication."

Semoitica - Frank Nuessel

"The significance of this work cannot be overestimated. Gesture and Thought is McNeill's capstone work because it represents a synthesis of his highly regarded and outstanding research in gesture during the past quarter century. This volume needs to be an essential part of the library of anyone who wishes to know about the relationship of gesture, language, and thought."

Leonardo

David McNeill’s book is a momentous contribution to our understanding of kinetic and visual expression. . . . McNeill’s detailed descriptions of how gestures represent ideas contribute greatly to our understanding of images as carriers of abstractions.”

— Rudolf Arnheim

PsycCritiques

By defending his reasons for studying gesture, offering a wide range of evidence to support conclusions about the imagery-language dialect, and illustrating how language is inextricably connected to social contexts, McNeill helps readers see why many scholars are no longer interested in parsing out the effects of nature and nurture on human functioning.

— Theresa A. Thorkildsen

Gesture

I am unable to adequately convey in words, or gesture, my admiration for this book, and generally believe that Gesture & Thought offers a major advancement in gesture studies with broad theoretical implications for comprehensive theories of embodied cognition and communication. . . . This is not just a book for gesture scholars, but one that all cognitive scientists would greatly benefit from reading. . . . A great example of interdisciplinary scholarship at its best, and [it] will undoubtedly stand the test of time as a classic in the study of human minds and communication.

— Raymond W. Gibbs, Jr.

Semoitica

The significance of this work cannot be overestimated. Gesture and Thought is McNeill's capstone work because it represents a synthesis of his highly regarded and outstanding research in gesture during the past quarter century. This volume needs to be an essential part of the library of anyone who wishes to know about the relationship of gesture, language, and thought.

— Frank Nuessel