Shifting Concepts

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Philosophy ◽  
Central Area ◽  
Linguistic Meaning ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Important Work ◽  
Linguistic Communication ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Semantic Properties ◽  
Conceptual Variation

Concepts stand at the centre of human cognition. We use concepts in categorizing objects and events in the world, in reasoning and action, and in social interaction. It is therefore not surprising that the study of concepts constitutes a central area of research in philosophy and psychology. Since the 1970s, psychologists have carried out intriguing experiments testing the role of concepts in categorizing and reasoning, and have found a great deal of variation in categorization behaviour across individuals and cultures. During the same period, philosophers of language and mind did important work on the semantic properties of concepts, and on how concepts are related to linguistic meaning and linguistic communication. An important motivation behind this was the idea that concepts must be shared, across individuals and cultures. However, there was little interaction between these two research programs until recently. With the dawn of experimental philosophy, the proposal that the experimental data from psychology lacks relevance to semantics is increasingly difficult to defend. Moreover, in the last decade, philosophers have approached questions about the tension between conceptual variation and shared concepts in communication from a new perspective: that of ameliorating concepts for theoretical or for social and political purposes. The volume brings together leading psychologists and philosophers working on concepts who come from these different research traditions.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Teresa Marques ◽  
Åsa Wikforss
Keyword(s):  
Central Area ◽  
Linguistic Meaning ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Research Traditions ◽  
The World ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Semantic Properties ◽  
Conceptual Variation

Concepts stand at the centre of human cognition. We use concepts in categorizing objects and events in the world, in reasoning and action, and in social interaction. It is therefore not surprising that the study of concepts constitutes a central area of research in philosophy and psychology. Since the 1970s, psychologists have carried out intriguing experiments testing the role of concepts in categorizing and reasoning, and have found a great deal of variation in categorization behaviour across individuals and cultures. During the same period, philosophers of language and mind did important work on the semantic properties of concepts, and on how concepts are related to linguistic meaning and linguistic communication. An important motivation behind this was the idea that concepts must be shared, across individuals and cultures. However, there was little interaction between these two research programmes until recently. With the dawn of experimental philosophy, the proposal that the experimental data from psychology lacks relevance to semantics is increasingly difficult to defend. Moreover, in the last decade, philosophers have approached questions about the tension between conceptual variation and shared concepts in communication from a new perspective—that of ameliorating concepts for theoretical or for social and political purposes. The volume brings together leading psychologists and philosophers working on concepts who come from these different research traditions.

The Kurdish Adpositional System: New Perspectives

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Sameerah Tawfeeq Saeed
Keyword(s):  
Categorial Status ◽  
Syntactic Status ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Basic Ideas ◽  
Semantic Properties

In this paper I present a basic descriptive overview of the adpositional system in Kurdish supported by illustrative examples from the Sorani dialect. Based on this, two classes are identified: simple and compound. Their morphological, syntactic and semantic properties are discussed in detail, highlighting the distinctions among them. The classification is further supported by the application of an extended P projection as proposed in Saeed (2015) which shares the basic ideas of Svenonius’ (2010) model of spatial P projection providing a new perspective of the role of spatial adpositions. I also examine the categorial status of several bound morphemes which attach to complements of some adpositions and argue that they are clitics associated with specific locative meanings. I propose the existence of PLACE head as a solution to the syntactic status of the locative clitics. I also show that postulating PLACE in the P projection does not clash with the existence of AxPart as they are two distinct elements syntactically and semantically.

scholarly journals Orexin and Alzheimer’s Disease: A New Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 621-626
Author(s):  
Yoo Hyun Um ◽  
Hyun Kook Lim
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Objective Measure ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Profiles ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Close Observation ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Relationship

Orexin’s role in human cognition has recently been emphasized and emerging evidences indicate its close relationship with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This review aimed to demonstrate recent research on the relationship between orexin and AD. Orexin’s role in stress regulation and memory is discussed, with significant findings related to sexual disparities in stress response, with potential clinical implications pertaining to AD pathology. There are controversies regarding the orexin levels in AD patients, but the role of orexin in the trajectory of AD is still emphasized in recent literatures. Orexin is also accentuated in the context of tau pathology, and orexin as a potential therapeutic target for AD is frequently discussed. Future directions with regard to the relationship between orexin and AD are suggested: 1) consideration for AD trajectory in the measurement of orexin levels, 2) the need for objective measure such as polysomnography and actigraphy, 3) the need for close observation of cognitive profiles of orexin-deficient narcolepsy patients, 4) the need for validation studies by neuroimaging 5) the need for taking account sexual disparities in orexinergic activiation, and 6) consideration for orexin’s role as a stress regulator. The aforementioned new perspectives could help unravel the relationship between orexin and AD.

scholarly journals Założenia ontologiczne i epistemologiczne sceptycyzmu Montaigne’a

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 69-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek Sołtysiak
Keyword(s):  
16Th Century ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Human Knowledge ◽  
Important Work ◽  
Negative Role

The Ontological and Epistemological Assumptions of Montaigne’s ScepticismMontaigne is widely regarded as one of the most significant sceptics of the 16th century. His most important work, Essays, had a great impact on the thinkers of the 16th and 17th centuries, in particular on the philosophy of Descartes. The article presents Montaigne’s critique of senses and reason as sources of human knowledge. The elements of his scepticism that went beyond the sceptic arguments of ancient thinkers has been emphasized. The negative role of his ontological variabilism in knowing things has been underlined. As a result of the total criticism of the possibilities of human cognition made by the author of the Essays, attention has been paid to the non-sceptical type of the question posed by him: “What do I know?” “Que sais-je?”. The answer to this question led him to fideism in cognition. At the end of the article, an attempt has been made to indicate Montaigne’s main epistemological and metaphysical assumptions that contributed to the problem of cognition. It has also been highlighted in what way the understanding of reason, method, and, above all, self became for Descartes, unlike Montaigne, the foundation of certain knowledge.

Shall I Move My Right or My Left Hand?

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Babiloni ◽  
Fabio Babiloni ◽  
Filippo Carducci ◽  
Febo Cincotti ◽  
Claudio Del Percio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bimanual Coordination ◽  
Central Area ◽  
Eeg Analysis ◽  
Complementary Information ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Mirror Movements ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Motor Acts ◽  
Abstract Event

Abstract Event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) at alpha (10Hz), beta (20Hz), and gamma (40Hz) bands and movement-related potentials (MRPs) were investigated in right-handed subjects who were “free” to decide the side of unilateral finger movements (“fixed” side as a control). As a novelty, this “multi-modal” EEG analysis was combined with the evaluation of involuntary mirror movements, taken as an index of “bimanual competition.” A main issue was whether the decision regarding the hand to be moved (“free” movements) could modulate ERD/ERS or MRPs overlying sensorimotor cortical areas typically involved in bimanual tasks. Compared to “fixed” movements, “free” movements induced the following effects: (1) more involuntary mirror movements discarded from EEG analysis; (2) stronger vertex MRPs (right motor acts); (3) a positive correlation between these potentials and the number of involuntary mirror movements; (4) gamma ERS over central areas; and (5) preponderance of postmovement beta ERS over left central area (dominant hemisphere). These results suggest that ERD/ERS and MRPs provide complementary information on the cortical processes belonging to a lateralized motor act. In this context, the results on vertex MRPs would indicate a key role of supplementary/cingulate motor areas not only for bimanual coordination but also for the control of “bimanual competition” and involuntary mirror movements.

Is a snake scarier than a gun? The ontogenetic–phylogenetic dispute from a new perspective: The role of arousal.

Emotion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 726-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andras Norbert Zsido ◽  
Anita Deak ◽  
Laszlo Bernath
Keyword(s):  
New Perspective

Quantitative Conditions and Convergent Operations That Are Compatible With the Universe as a Persistent Generator of Successive Simulations

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 4178-4187
Author(s):  
Michael A Persinger ◽  
Stanley A Koren
Keyword(s):  
Structural Organization ◽  
Total Duration ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Intrinsic Properties ◽  
Basic Assumptions ◽  
Electron Orbit ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Massive Information ◽  
The Universe

                The capacity for computer-like simulations to be generated by massive information processing from electron-spin potentials supports Bostrom’s hypothesis that matter and human cognition might reflect simulations. Quantitative analyses of the basic assumptions indicate the universe may display properties of a simulation where photons behave as pixels and gravitons control the structural organization. The Lorentz solution for the square of the light and entanglement velocities converges with the duration of a single electron orbit that ultimately defines properties of matter. The approximately one trillion potential states within the same space with respect to the final epoch of the universe indicate that a different simulation, each with intrinsic properties, has been and will be generated as a type of tractrix defined by ±2 to 3 days (total duration 5 to 6 days). It may define the causal limits within a simulation. Because of the intrinsic role of photons as the pixel unit, phenomena within which flux densities are enhanced, such as human cognition (particularly dreaming) and the cerebral regions associated with those functions, create the conditions for entanglement or excess correlations between contiguous simulations. The consistent quantitative convergence of operations indicates potential validity for this approach. The emergent solutions offer alternative explanations for the limits of predictions for multivariate phenomena that could be coupled to more distal simulations.

Epilogue

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno and
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Multisensory Processing ◽  
Multisensory Perception ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
Multisensory Interactions ◽  
Contemporary Work ◽  
New Perspective

Multisensory interactions in perception are pervasive and fundamental, as we have documented throughout this book. In this final chapter, we propose that contemporary work on multisensory processing is a paradigm shift in perception science, calling for a radical reconsideration of empirical and theoretical questions within an entirely new perspective. In making our case, we emphasize that multisensory perception is the norm, not the exception, and we remark that multisensory interactions can occur early in sensory processing. We reiterate the key notions that multisensory interactions come in different kinds and that principles of multisensory processing must be considered when tackling multisensory daily-life problems. We discuss the role of unisensory processing in a multisensory world, and we conclude by suggesting future directions for the multisensory field.

Showing, Expressing, and Figuratively Meaning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitchell Green
Keyword(s):  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Linguistic Meaning ◽  
Psychological State ◽  
Proper Understanding ◽  
Speaker Meaning

We first correct some errors in Lepore and Stone’s discussion of speaker meaning and its relation to linguistic meaning. With a proper understanding of those notions and their relation, we may then motivate a liberalization of speaker meaning that includes overtly showing one’s psychological state. I then distinguish this notion from that of expression, which, although communicative, is less cognitively demanding than speaker meaning since it need not be overt. This perspective in turn enables us to address Lepore and Stone’s broadly Davidsonian view of figurative language, which rightly emphasizes the role of imagination and perspective-taking associated with such language, but mistakenly suggests it is sui generis relative to other types of pragmatic process, and beyond the realm of communication. Figurative utterances may influence conversational common ground, and may be assessed for their aptness; they also have a characteristically expressive role that a Davidsonian view lacks the resources to explain.

Varieties of Intentionalism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Keiser
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Linguistic Communication ◽  
Grammatical Analysis

In Imagination and Convention: Distinguishing Grammar and Inference in Language, Ernie Lepore and Matthew Stone offer a multifaceted critique of the Gricean picture of language use, proposing in its place a novel framework for understanding the role of convention in linguistic communication. They criticize Lewis’s and Grice’s commitment to what they call ‘prospective intentionalism,’ according to which utterance meaning is determined by the conversational effects intended by the speaker. Instead, they make a case for what they call ‘direct intentionalism’, according to which utterance meaning is determined by the speaker’s intentions to use it under a certain grammatical analysis. I argue that there is an equivocation behind their critique, both regarding the type of meaning that is at issue and the question each theory is attempting to answer; once we prise these issues apart, we find that Lepore and Stone’s main contentions are compatible with the broadly Lewisian/Gricean picture.

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