scholarly journals Effects of Animacy in Grammar and Cognition: Introduction to Special Issue

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 260-267
Author(s):  
Virve-Anneli Vihman ◽  
Diane Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
Grammatical Structures

AbstractMost, if not all, languages exhibit “animacy effects”: grammatical structures interact with the relative animacy of noun referents, as represented on various versions of animacy scales, with human discourse participants at one end and inanimate objects at the other. Cross-linguistic evidence attests to a range of linguistic phenomena conditioned by animacy, with complex effects requiring (a) subtler distinctions than a binary contrast [± animate] and (b) more sophisticated analyses than mapping higher animacy to higher grammatical role.This paper introduces the Special Issue, “Effects of Animacy in Grammar and Cognition”, in which the linguistic interest in grammatical effects of animacy is aligned with broader questions concerning animacy in cognition, including the origins of animacy in language, the biases underlying how we attend to animacy distinctions and how animacy affects discourse. Recent work in cognitive science and adjacent fields has contributed to the understanding of the role of animacy across linguistic domains. Yet, despite the consensus that sensitivity to animacy is a property central to human cognition, there is no agreement on how to incorporate animacy within linguistic theories. This SI focusses on the cognitive construal of animacy, aiming to extend our understanding of its role in grammar(s) and theory.

Hegel on the Nature of Scepticism

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 80-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dietmar H. Heidemann
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Philosophical Method ◽  
Philosophical Thinking ◽  
Knock Down ◽  
Human Understanding ◽  
Early View ◽  
The One ◽  
Intrinsic Feature

In the Encyclopaedia Logic, Hegel states that ‘philosophy … contains the sceptical as a moment within itself — specifically as the dialectical moment’ (§81, Addition 2), and that ‘scepticism’ as ‘the dialectical moment itself is an essential one in the affirmative Science’ (§78). On the one hand, the connection between scepticism and dialectic is obvious. Hegel claims that scepticism is a problem that cannot be just removed from the philosophical agenda by knock-down anti-sceptical arguments. Scepticism intrinsically belongs to philosophical thinking; that is to say, it plays a constructive role in philosophical thinking. On the other hand, scepticism has to be construed as the view according to which we cannot know whether our beliefs are true, i.e., scepticism plays a destructive role in philosophy no matter what. It is particularly this role that clashes with Hegel's claim of having established a philosophical system of true cognition of the entirety of reality. In the following I argue that for Hegel the constructive and the destructive role of scepticism are reconcilable. I specifically argue that it is dialectic that makes both consistent since scepticism is a constitutive element of dialectic.In order to show in what sense scepticism is an intrinsic feature of dialectic I begin by sketching Hegel's early view of scepticism specifically with respect to logic and metaphysics. The young Hegel construes logic as a philosophical method of human cognition that inevitably results in ‘sceptical’ consequences in that it illustrates the finiteness of human understanding. By doing so, logic not only nullifies finite understanding but also introduces to metaphysics, i.e., the true philosophical science of the absolute.

Religion and Constitutional Practices in Asia: Five ‘Cs’ for Reflection

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-225
Author(s):  
Arif A JAMAL
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Comparative Law ◽  
The Other ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Short Commentary ◽  
Five Cs ◽  
The One ◽  
The Individual

AbstractIn considering the articles in this Special Issue, I am struck by the importance of a set of factors that, in my view, both run through the articles like a leitmotif, as well as shape the major ‘take away’ lesson(s) from the articles. In this short commentary, I elaborate on these factors and the lesson(s) to take from them through five ‘Cs’: context; complexity; contestation; the framework of constitutions; and the role of comparative law. The first three ‘Cs’ are lessons from the case studies of the articles themselves, while the second two ‘Cs’ are offered as lessons to help take the dialogue forward. Fundamentally, these five ‘Cs’ highlight the importance of the articles in this Special Issue and the conference from which they emerged on the one hand, while on the other hand, also making us aware of what are the limits of what we should conclude from the individual articles. In other words, taken together, the five ‘Cs’ are, one might say, lessons about lessons.

scholarly journals The role of transfer in language variation and change: Evidence from contact varieties of French

2005 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEANINE TREFFERS-DALLER ◽  
RAYMOND MOUGEON
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Area ◽  
Demographic Factors ◽  
Institutional Support ◽  
Language Variation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Language Variation And Change ◽  
Over Time

In this Special Issue, the focus is on contact-induced language variation and change in situations of societal bilingualism that involve long-term contact between French and another language. As is well known, when two or more languages are spoken by groups of speakers in the same geographical area, over time, features from one language can be transferred to the other language, especially when the languages in question are unequal in terms of prestige, institutional support and demographic factors. The process that leads to the adoption of such features in the contact languages is generally known as INTERFERENCE or TRANSFER, and these terms are also used to describe the features in question (i.e. the end product of the process of transfer). In this issue we prefer to use the term TRANSFER over the use of the notion INTERFERENCE, as the former has fewer negative connotations than the latter.

The Minimality Condition in phonology

1989 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monik Charette
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Universal Grammar ◽  
The Other ◽  
Minimality Condition ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Phonological Representations ◽  
Phonological Processes ◽  
Phonological Form ◽  
Principles And Parameters

With a few honourable exceptions, phonologists have, until recently, generally assumed the phonological component to be organized along completely different lines from the other components of the grammar. Phonological phenomena were mainly viewed as accidental, language specific, and unprincipled. Whereas some theoretical parallels between syntax and phonology have been drawn (cf. the role of the cycle in both domains and the extensive literature on ordering), there have been few attempts to see if principles of Universal Grammar could be found in phonology as well as in syntax and semantics. Increasingly, however, phonology is now being regarded as a system of principles along with parameters defining the class of human phonological Systems. In such a framework there are no rules of the sort: A → B/C→D. Phonological phenomena result from principles and parameters governing phonological representations and structures present in a particular language. Along these lines, recent work in phonology has suggested that Phonological Form (PF), like the other components of the grammar, is subject to certain fundamental principles. For example, it was proposed by Andersen and Jones in the early 1970s (and pursued by Ewen, Durand and others) that the relations of dependency that determine how syntactic constituents are organized, also determine how segments are grouped together in a given structure. For their part Lowenstamm & Kaye (1982) proposed that a theory of government could account for certain phonological processes such as vowel shortening in closed syllables. Stephen Anderson (1982) and Levin (1985) have proposed that X-bar principles govern the representation of syllables. Specifically, they have proposed that the Rhyme and the syllable as a whole are projections of the syllabic head, the Nucleus.

Automatic Subjects

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Floyd
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Global Expansion ◽  
Autonomist Marxism ◽  
Fictitious Capital ◽  
Critical Scrutiny ◽  
The One ◽  
Reproductive Processes

Critical analysis of the biotechnological reproduction of biological life increasingly emphasises the role of value-producing labour in biotechnologically reproductive processes, while also arguing that Marx’s use of the terms ‘labour’ and ‘value’ is inadequate to the critical scrutiny of these processes. Focusing especially on the reformulation of the value-labour relation in recent work in this area by Melinda Cooper and Catherine Waldby, this paper both critiques this reformulation and questions the explanatory efficacy of the category ‘labour’ in this context. Emphasising the contemporary global expansion of capital relative to value-producing labour – specifically, the expansion of fictitious capital and debt on the one hand, and of global surplus populations on the other – it argues that this reformulation misrepresents the mediated capacities of capital as the immediate capacities of labour. This reformulation, moreover, is indicative of broader tendencies in the contemporary theorisation of labour, tendencies exemplified by autonomist Marxism.

scholarly journals Ageing in a network society: An Introduction

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Hannah Grist ◽  
Liliana Vale-Costa
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older Age ◽  
The Other ◽  
Network Society ◽  
Communication Studies ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Shared Understandings ◽  
Networked Society

This special issue aims to explore the role of ICTs in encouraging the development of networked older adults. Specifically, the following papers give a noteworthy contribution to the challenges posed by an increasingly ageing and networked society. This special issue is edited by colleagues whose disciplines are not naturally symbiotic – one from Information and Communication studies and the other from Ageing studies. As such, this special issue posed an interesting set of challenges for the editors as they explored their shared understandings of what it means to grow old or be old in a network society. The editors would therefore like to thank the authors for their receptiveness to ageing studies theory and for challenging their own assumptions about what it means to be old. This special issue acts, in some ways, as a stepping stone or a bridge between more information technological based notions of what it is to grow older and cultural gerontological constructions of older age.

scholarly journals Role of Logic in Cognitive Science

Studia Humana ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-30
Author(s):  
Paweł Balcerak
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Propositional Logic ◽  
Nervous Activity ◽  
Human Cognition

Abstract In their work McCulloch and Pitts describe an idea of representing all of nervous activity in terms of propositional logic. This idea was quickly challenged. One of reasons for this challenge was rising believe that logic is unable to describe most of human cognitive processes. In this paper we will analyse premises of original McCulloch and Pitts proposition. Following that, we will ask about ability of symbolic (logical) systems to represent human cognition. We will finish by analysing relation between symbolic and subsymbolic computing, in hope of bridging the gap between the two.

INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL ISSUE: DYNAMIC MACROECONOMIC THEORY

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
HENRIK JENSEN ◽  
PETER NORMAN SØRENSEN ◽  
HANS JØRGEN WHITTA-JACOBSEN
Keyword(s):  
Monetary Policy ◽  
Business Cycles ◽  
The Other ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Macroeconomic Theory ◽  
Monetary Stability ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Hard Constraints ◽  
Theoretical Issues

This issue collects 11 articles at the frontier of the field of Dynamic Macroeconomic Theory.A majority of the articles discuss theoretical issues related to monetary policy. Many rich economies have now enjoyed a long period of stable monetary conditions, but many researchers remain puzzled as to what are the main mechanisms driving monetary stability. The field is of great importance to policymakers, and this issue's dynamic approaches will advance the debate. The other articles touch on other, equally inherently dynamic issues of macroeconomics, relating to growth, business cycles, and the role of credit. In light of the hard constraints we imposed on the length of the contributed articles, we will let the articles speak for themselves, and hope that the reader will enjoy this research sample as much as we do.

scholarly journals Mutual bootstrapping between language and analogical processing

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dedre Gentner ◽  
Stella Christie
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Structural Alignment ◽  
Great Apes ◽  
The Other ◽  
Spatial Language ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Symbolic Language ◽  
Structure Mapping ◽  
Symbolic Systems

AbstractWhat makes us so smart as a species, and what makes children such rapid learners? We argue that the answer to both questions lies in a mutual bootstrapping system comprised of (1) our exceptional capacity for relational cognition and (2) symbolic systems that augment this capacity. The ability to carry out structure-mapping processes of alignment and inference is inherent in human cognition. It is arguably the key inherent difference between humans and other great apes. But an equally important difference is that humans possess a symbolic language.The acquisition of language influences cognitive development in many ways. We focus here on the role of language in a mutually facilitating partnership with relational representation and reasoning. We suggest a positive feedback relation in which structural alignment processes support the acquisition of language, and in turn, language—especially relational language—supports structural alignment and reasoning.We review three kinds of evidence (a) evidence that analogical processes support children's learning in a variety of domains; (b) more specifically, evidence that analogical processing fosters the acquisition of language, especially relational language; and (c) in the other direction, evidence that acquiring language fosters children's ability to process analogies, focusing on spatial language and spatial analogies. We conclude with an analysis of the acquisition of cardinality—which we offer as a canonical case of how the combination of language and analogical processing fosters cognitive development.

Introduction: D’Annunzio’s Beauty, Reawakened

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-334
Author(s):  
Lara Gochin Raffaelli ◽  
Michael Subialka
Keyword(s):  
Close Association ◽  
The Other ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Italian Fascism ◽  
Bourgeois Society ◽  
Modern Capitalism ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
The One ◽  
Concept Of Beauty

D’Annunzio’s uneven reception both within and outside of Italy is partially due to the close association between his work and Italian fascism. Yet his concept of beauty certainly exceeds the narrow confines of that association. His aesthetics is more than a (fascist) aestheticism. In this article we introduce the special issue on D’Annunzio’s beauty by articulating the complex, multifaceted role of the aesthetic in D’Annunzio’s works and thought. He idealizes art as a refuge against the levelling forces of modern capitalism, bourgeois society, democracy and massification. This positions him in between decadentism and modernism, on the one hand, and between the aestheticism of post-Kantian idealism and a heroic vision of nationalism, on the other. Ever an eclectic thinker and artist, D’Annunzio’s legacy remains rich, challenging, prolific: now, a century from the war in which he became a nationalist hero, is an ideal moment to return to the question of how these complex, conflicting elements emerge in D'Annunzio's seductive picture of beauty.

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