Philip Lieberman (October 25, 1934 – July 12, 2022) was a cognitive scientist at
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
,
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
, United States. Originally trained in
phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...
, he wrote a dissertation on
intonation. His career focused on topics in the
evolution of language
The origin of language (spoken and signed, as well as language-related technological systems such as writing), its relationship with human evolution, and its consequences have been subjects of study for centuries. Scholars wishing to study th ...
, and particularly the relationship between the evolution of the
vocal tract
The vocal tract is the cavity in human bodies and in animals where the sound produced at the sound source ( larynx in mammals; syrinx in birds) is filtered.
In birds it consists of the trachea, the syrinx, the oral cavity, the upper part of th ...
, the human brain, and the evolution of speech, cognition and language.
Biography
Lieberman initially studied
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
(MIT). He received his doctorate in linguistics from MIT, completing his dissertation in 1966. In the late 1950s and 1960s he worked as a research assistant before serving in the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
, carrying out research at the
Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...
(AFCRL) and
Hanscom Air Force Base as well as working at
Haskins Laboratories
Haskins Laboratories, Inc. is an independent 501(c) non-profit corporation, founded in 1935 and located in New Haven, Connecticut, since 1970. Haskins has formal affiliation agreements with both Yale University and the University of Connecticut; ...
.
From 1967 to 1974 he worked at the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...
.
In 1974 he was appointed to the faculty at Brown University, where he was George Hazard Crooker Professor from 1992 to 1997. In 1997 he became the Fred M. Seed Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, and in 1999 he became Professor of Anthropology, both at Brown University. Since 2012, when he retired from teaching, he became The George Hazard Crooker University Professor, emeritus
Lieberman was awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship in psychology in 1987. In 1990, Lieberman gave the Nijmegen Lectures of the
Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
The Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (German: ''Max-Planck-Institut für Psycholinguistik''; Dutch: ''Max Planck Instituut voor Psycholinguïstiek'') is a research institute situated on the campus of Radboud University Nijmegen located ...
under the title 'The evolution of language and cognition'. He was also a fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
, the
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
, and the
American Anthropological Association
The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 members, the association, based in Arlington, Virginia, includes archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, ...
.
Lieberman's interests included
photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
and
mountaineering.
A collection of over 400 photographs of Nepal by Lieberman is held at the
Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology
The Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology is Brown University's teaching and research museum. The museum has a gallery in Manning Hall on Brown's campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Its Collections Research Center is located in nearby Bristol, Rh ...
. Lieberman's photographs have also been exhibited at and are in the collections at the
Rhode Island School of Design Museum.
'About the Author' and 'About the Photographer'
in His photographs of life in remote Himalayan regions can be viewed on the website of the Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library.[
]
Partial list of works
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References
External links
;Biographical
(Department of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences at Brown University)
Philip Lieberman
(Anthropology Department at Brown University)
Philip Lieberman
(Research Profile at Brown University)
Philip Lieberman
(CARTA profile – Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny
The Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA) is an Organized Research Unit (ORU) at the University of California, San Diego. Formally established in 2008, CARTA is a collaboration between faculty members of UCSD main ca ...
)
;Other
Tibetan Buddhist Wall Paintings of Mustang, Nepal
by Philip and Marcia R. Lieberman (Brown University Library Center for Digital Initiatives)
''Quarterly Review of Biology'', September 2001 (Edinburgh University)
(part of a set of 'first chapters' hosted by ''The New York Times'' books section, account required)
April 2008 news story (''The Daily Telegraph'')
Mind the Altitude
February 2012 lecture with Kurt Diemberger (Rubin Museum of Art)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lieberman, Philip
1934 births
2022 deaths
Linguists from the United States
Anthropological linguists
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Haskins Laboratories scientists
Brown University faculty
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
People from Brooklyn