Agency and Consciousness in Discourse: Self-Other Dynamics as a Complex SystemIn the past two decades there has been considerable interest in the ways in which subjects are positioned in discursive practice. This interest has entailed a focus on the role of language and discourse in the processes in and through which subjects are constituted in discourse. However, questions of agency and how it relates to consciousness have received less attention. This book explores the ways in which agency and consciousness are created through transactions between self and other. The book argues that it is necessary to regard body-brain interactions in the context of the social and discursive practices which act upon human bodies. These issues of agency and individuation are explored in relation to infant semiosis, as well as in relation to children's symbolic play. Thibault looks at the importance of the self-referential moral conscience in relation to the interpersonal dimension of all acts of meaning-making. This conscience is also connected to the development of a self-referential viewpoint which the book argues is connected to the ecosocial semiotic systems of thinking about consciousness as a complex system operating on many different levels. The author discusses and evaluates the work of linguists, psychologists, biologists, semioticians, and sociologists such as Basil Bernstein, Mikhail Bakhtin, J. J. Gibson, M. A. K. Halliday, Walter Kauffman, Lakoff & Johnson, Jay Lemke, Jean Piaget and Stanley Salthe, to develop a new theory of agency and consciousness. |
Contents
1 | |
17 | |
AGENCY OTHERNESS AND THE SELF | 53 |
CONSCIOUSNESS | 161 |
METAPHOR AND SYSTEM COMPLEXITY | 253 |
Appendixes | 315 |
333 | |
345 | |
353 | |
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Agency and Consciousness in Discourse: Self-Other Dynamics as a Complex System Paul Thibault No preview available - 2006 |
Common terms and phrases
action activity addressee agency agent attention basis body brain capacity chapter child clause complex connections consciousness constitute constraints construed context dialogic discourse discussion distinction domain dynamics ecosocial egocentric emergence engage entails entrained environment environmental example exchange experience experiential Figure follows functions further give given grammatical hierarchy higher-scalar human indexical individual infant inner instance integrated intentional interaction internal interpersonal interpretance involves kind language lexicogrammatical linguistic mapping material meaning meaning-making mediated mental metaphor modal move nature neural object observer organization orientation participants particular patterns perceptual performance person perspective phase physical play position possible potential practices present principle processes projected proposed proposition provides question realized reference relation relationship relevant response scale seen selectively semantic semiotic sense sensori-motor shows signs situation social sound space speaker specific speech stage structure symbolic things trajectory utterance values visual voice