Abstract
Embodied Cognition (EC) is a new psychological version of an old philosophical idea: human cognition is grounded in sensorimotor experience. According to EC there is not such an entity as abstract and disembodied knowledge, that is, the root of every form of human knowledge is an acting body in the world. In this chapter I will try to show that existing extensions of EC to language partly miss the point because do not fully account for the social and performative nature of language. Therefore a thorough embodied theory of language requires to consider the Wittgenstein legacy, which stresses at least two main points: (a) a coherent theory of language is not possible if not embedded in a more comprehensive description of human way of living; (b) the meaning of a word is not an internal and psychological entity but its social use, it is the action we do using that word/tool. In this chapter I will analyze EC literature showing that it needs to be complemented with Wittgenstein ideas on language and mind.
Wittgenstein, 1953, Eng. Transl. 2001, II, p. 197.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
In fact Embodied Cognition is a form of neo-Piagetianism which ignores its own origin.
References
Barsalou, Lawrence W. 1999. Perceptual symbol systems. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 22: 577–660.
Lawrence W. Barsalou, Ava Santos, W. Kyle Simmons, Christine Wilson. 2008. Language and simulation in conceptual processing. In Symbols, embodiment, and meaning, eds. M. De Vega, A.M. Glenberg, A.C. Graesser, A., 245–283. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Corballis, Michael. 2009. Language as gesture. Human Movement Science 28: 556–565.
Fogassi, Leonardo, and Francesco Ferrari. 2007. Mirror neurons and the evolution of embodied language. Current Directions in Psychological Science 16(3): 136–141.
Gallese, Vittorio. 2009. Motor abstraction: A neuroscientific account of how action goals and intentions are mapped and understood. Psychological Research 73: 486–498.
Garbarini, Francesca, and Mauro Adenzato. 2004. At the root of embodied cognition: cognitive science meets neuropsychology. Brain and Cognition 56: 100–106.
Glenberg, Arthur, and Michael Kaschak. 2003. The body’s contribution to language. The Psychology of Learning and Motivation 43: 93–126.
Mirolli, Marco, and Domenico Parisi. 2009. Language as a cognitive tool. Minds and Machines 19: 517–528.
Rizzolatti, Giacomo, L. Fadiga, Vittorio Gallese, and Leonardo Fogassi. 1996. Premotor cortex and the recognition of motor actions. Cognitive Brain Research 3: 131–141.
Rizzolatti, Giacomo, and Michael Arbib. 1998. Language within our grasp. Trends in Neuroscience 21: 188–194.
Rizzolatti, Giacomo, and Corrado Sinigaglia. 2006. So quel che fai. Il cervello che agisce e i neuroni specchio. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
Sato, Marc, Marisa Mengarelli, Lucia Riggio, Vittorio Gallese, and Giovanni Buccino. 2008. Task related modulation of the motor system during language processing. Brain and Language 105: 83–90.
Schilhab, Theresa. 2007. Interactional expertise through the looking glass: A peek at mirror neurons. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 38: 741–747.
Scorolli, Claudia, and Anna Borghi. 2007. Sentence comprehension and action: Effector specific modulation of the motor system. Brain Research 1130: 119–124.
Tripodi, Paolo. 2009. Dimenticare Wittgenstein. Una vicenda della filosofia analitica. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Ludwig, Wittgenstein. 1953. Philosophical investigations. The German text. With a revised English translation: 2001. (trans: Anscombe, G.E.M.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cimatti, F. (2013). For in Psychology there are Experimental Methods and Conceptual Confusion: From Embodied Cognition to Wittgenstein on Language and Mind. In: Capone, A., Lo Piparo, F., Carapezza, M. (eds) Perspectives on Pragmatics and Philosophy. Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01011-3_29
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01011-3_29
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-01010-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-01011-3
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawPhilosophy and Religion (R0)