Language and thought: a case study in the interaction between linguistic relativity and embodied cognitive science 

Zoom: https://ucp-pt.zoom.us/j/98868799679?pwd=HZb2xniMb4Jir1kxer7aFvbka4do4S.1

The fields of linguistic relativity and embodied cognitive science, also known as 4E cognition, present a excellent case study for the relationship between language and thought from multiple perspectives (linguistics, psychology, anthropology and philosophy). Against the classical computational view of the mind, both fields argue that external factors play a constitutive role in mental processes, such as the highly diverse linguistic structures encountered across the world's languages, or the embodied nature of our everyday interactions with the world and with one another. However, despite the appearance of a potential theoretical convergence, there has been very little interaction between both fields. I argue that this results from important conceptual obstacles, among which I single out two.

(1) The claim that language is embodied is typically understood to run one way: language reflects the fact that we are embodied beings. But if our embodiment is functionally similar across cultures and languages, then we should expect linguistic diversity to be constrained by our common embodiment. Is there a tension between both?

(2) Embodied approaches in cognitive science are influenced by the integrationist approach in linguistics, which denies the possibility of describing linguistic structures from a synchronic perspective. This threatens the conceptual foundations of linguistic relativity. The presentation will explore whether these tensions can be successfully resolved.