Premium
Language and embodiment—Or the cognitive benefits of abstract representations
Author(s) -
Kompa Nikola A.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
mind and language
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.905
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1468-0017
pISSN - 0268-1064
DOI - 10.1111/mila.12266
Subject(s) - embodied cognition , cognition , comprehension , empiricism , cognitive science , cognitive robotics , psychology , epistemology , cognitive psychology , linguistics , philosophy , neuroscience
Cognition, it is often heard nowadays, is embodied. My concern is with embodied accounts of language comprehension. First, the basic idea will be outlined and some of the evidence that has been put forward in their favor will be examined. Second, their empiricist heritage and their conception of abstract ideas will be discussed. Third, an objection will be raised according to which embodied accounts underestimate the cognitive functions language fulfills. The remainder of the paper will be devoted to arguing for the cognitive indispensability of non‐embodied, abstract representations by highlighting some of the cognitive benefits they bestow upon us.