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How are abstract concepts and words represented in the brain? That
is the central question addressed by the authors of "Words as
Social Tools: An Embodied View on Abstract Concepts". First, they
focus on the difficulties in defining what abstract concepts and
words are, and what they mean in psycholinguistic research. Then
the authors go on to describe and critically discuss the main
theories on this topic with a special emphasis on the different
embodied and grounded theories proposed in cognitive psychology
within the last ten years, highlighting the advantages and
limitations of each of these theories. The core of this Brief
consists of the presentation of a new theory developed by the
authors, the WAT (Words As social Tools) view, according to which
both sensorimotor (such as perception, action, emotional
experiences) and linguistic experiences are at the basis of
abstract concepts and of abstract word representation, processing
and use. This theory assigns a major role to acquisition: one of
the assumptions the authors make is that the different ways in
which concrete and abstract words are acquired constrain their
brain representation and their use. This view will be compared with
the main existing theories on abstractness, from the theory of
conceptual metaphors to the theories on multiple representation.
Finally, the volume illustrates recent evidence from different
areas (developmental, behavioral, cross-cultural,
neuropsychological and neural) which converge with and support the
authors' theory, leading to the conclusion that in order to account
for representation and processing of abstract concepts and words,
an extension of embodied and grounded theories is necessary.
The Freedom of Words is for anyone interested in understanding the
role of body and language in cognition and how humans developed the
sophisticated ability to use abstract concepts like 'freedom' and
'thinking'. This volume adopts a transdisciplinary perspective,
including philosophy, semiotics, psychology, and neuroscience, to
show how language, as a tool, shapes our minds and influences our
interaction with the physical and social environment. It develops a
theory showing how abstract concepts in their different varieties
enhance cognition and profoundly influence our social and affective
life. It addresses how children learn such abstract concepts,
details how they vary across languages and cultures, and outlines
the link between abstractness and the capability to detect inner
bodily signals. Overall, the book shows how words – abstract
words in particular, because of their indeterminate and open
character – grant us freedom.
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