Human Cognitive Processing (vols. 1–51, 1998–2015)
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Human Cognitive Processing (vols. 1–51, 1998–2015)
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Collection Contents
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Bi-Directionality in the Cognitive Sciences
show More to view fulltext, buy and share links for: show Less to hide fulltext, buy and share links for:Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of the human mind. As far as the exact relationship between the cognitive sciences and other fields is concerned, however, it appears that interdisciplinary exchange often remains unrealized, possibly because of the uni-directional application of theories, concepts, and methods, which impedes the productive transfer of knowledge in both directions. In the course of the ‘cognitive turn’ in the humanities and social sciences, many disciplines have selectively borrowed ideas from ‘core cognitive sciences’ like psychology and artificial intelligence. The day-to-day practice of interdisciplinarity thus thrives on one-directional borrowings. Focusing on cognitive approaches in linguistics and literary studies, this volume explores bi-directionality, a genuine transdisciplinary interchange in which both disciplines are borrowing and lending. The contributions take different perspectives on bi-directionality: some extend uni-directional borrowing practices and point to avenues and crossroads, while others critically discuss obstacles, challenges, and limitations to bi-directional transfer.
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The Building Blocks of Meaning
show More to view fulltext, buy and share links for: show Less to hide fulltext, buy and share links for:The shaping of complex meanings depends on punctual and relational coding and inferencing. Coding is viewed as a vector which can run either from expression to content or from concepts to (linguistic) forms to mark independent conceptual relations. While coding relies on systematic resources internal to language, inferencing essentially depends on a layered system of autonomous shared conceptual structures, which include both cognitive models and consistency criteria grounded in a natural ontology. Inference guided by coding is not a residual pragmatic device but it is a direct way to long-term conceptual structures that guide the connection of meanings.
The interaction of linguistic forms and concepts is particularly clear in conceptual conflict where conflictual complex meanings provide insights into the roots of significance and the linguistic structure of metaphors.
Complementing a formal analysis of linguistic structures with a substantive analysis of conceptual structures, a philosophical grammar provides insights from both formal and functional approaches toward a more profound understanding of how language works in constructing and communicating complex meanings.
This monograph is ideally addressed to linguists, philosophers and psychologists interested in language as symbolic form and as an instrument of human action rooted in a complex conceptual and cognitive landscape.
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