Brain, Mind and the Signifying Body: An Ecosocial Semiotic Theory"Brain, Mind and the Signifying Body" is an exploration of a multimodal theory of cognitive science. Using linguistic theories first developed by Saussure and more latterly by M. A. K. Halliday, Paul Thibault analyses how social and biological systems interact to produce meaning. This fascinating study will be of interest to undergraduates and academics researching cognitive linguistics and advanced semiotics. The book engages with the current dialogue between the human and life sciences to ask questions about the relationship between the physical, biological aspects of a human being, and the sociocultural framework in which a human being exists. Paul J. Thibault argues that we need to understand both the semiotic, discursive nature of meaning making, and the physical context in which this activity takes place. The two are inseparable, and hence the only way we can understand our subjective experience of our environment and our perceptions of our inner states of mind is by giving equal weight to both frameworks. This 'ecosocial semiotic' theory engages with linguistics, semiotics, activity theory, biology and psychology. In so doing, the book produces a new way of looking at how a human being makes sense of his or her environment, but also how this environment shapes such meanings. |
Other editions - View all
Brain, Mind and the Signifying Body: An Ecosocial Semiotic Theory Paul Thibault Limited preview - 2004 |
Brain, Mind and the Signifying Body: An Ecosocial Semiotic Theory Paul Thibault Limited preview - 2004 |
Brain, Mind and the Signifying Body: An Ecosocial Semiotic Theory Paul Thibault Limited preview - 2006 |
Common terms and phrases
action articulation articulatory attractor biological bodily body brain central nervous system child’s clause conceptual configuration conscious experience consciousness constitute constraints construed content stratum contextual cross-coupling Damasio defined deixis dialogic discourse dissipative structures dyad dynamics ecosocial environment ecosocial semiotic emergence entrained environmental event experiential expression and content expression plane expression stratum extended consciousness field first functions gestures given graphology Halliday here-now hierarchy higher-order higher-scalar iconic indexical individual individual’s inner speech integrated interaction interpersonal Lemke level L-l levels of organization lexicogrammatical linguistic lower-scalar meaning meaning-making activity mediated metafunctional microfunctions mirror neurons morpheme movement neurons object one’s organism’s patterns perceptual perspective phenomena of experience phonetic phonological principles processes prosodies protolanguage realized relations Salthe scalar levels self-organizing semantic semiosis semiotic modalities semiotic system sensori-motor activity social semiotic space-time scales specific speech sounds stimulus information structures supersystem supervenient symbolic system of interpretance temporal timescale topological topological-continuous trajectory vocal vocal-tract activity