Brain, Mind and the Signifying Body An Ecosocial Semiotic Theory

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ISBN: 9780826469656 | 0826469655
Cover: Hardcover
Copyright: 6/22/2004

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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.

List of Figures

List of Tables

Foreword

M. A. K. Halliday

Preface

xiii

PART I

Introduction

The Body-brain System, Meaning-making Activity, and Ecosocial Environment: Building a New, Unified Discourse

(5)

The Conceptual Framework of the Ecosocial Semiotic Perspective

(3)

Gibson's Ecological Theory of Perception and the Three-level Scalar Hierarchy View of Organism-plus-Environment Transactions

(7)

The Brain as Regulator of Sensori-motor Activity: Implications for Social Semiosis

(5)

Topological and Typological Modes of Semiotic-material Interdependence

(3)

Contextualization and Meta-redundancy

(4)

A Critique of the Causal View of Brain-mind Relations

(4)

Defining and Extending the Notion of Meaning in Terms of the Three-level Hierarchy and the Specification Hierarchy

(5)

The Signifying Body: Rethinking the Stratified view of Semiosis in Terms of the Three-level Scalar Hierarchy

(7)

Systemic-functional Linguistic Theory: Bringing Together the Intra-organism and Inter-organism Perspectives on Meaning-making

(3)

Reconnecting the Semiotic Concept of Value to the Body-brain System and to Meaning-making Activity

(5)

A Thumbnail Sketch of the Book

(5)

PART II

Sensori-motor Activity, Movement, and Social Meaning-making: Rethinking the Expression Plane of Semiosis

Some Early Signposts from Saussure and Hjelmslev: The Expression Plane as Embodied Articulatory Movement

(9)

Energy Exchange and the Complementarity of Interacting Body-brains

(1)

The Stratified Model of Semiosis: The Problem of Conceptual Abstractness and Scalar Homogeneity

(3)

Blackboxing the Sensori-motor Dimension: Language Seen as Modality-independent Centralized Processing Mechanism

(3)

The Intentional Character of `Inner' and `Outer' Sensori-motor Activity: Towards a Unified Account

(2)

The Symbolic Possibilities of Bodily Movement

(1)

Articulatory Movement Seen as Actional Semiotic, Not Physical Behaviour

(3)

Inner and Outer Body States and Social Semiosis

(2)

The Semiotic Mediation and Entraining of Embodied Bio-kinematic Potential

(3)

Metafunctional Diversity on the Expression Plane

(1)

The Expression Plane is the Interface between Body and Ecosocial Environment

(3)

The Metafunctional Basis of Vocal-tract Articulatory Activity

(4)

Subjectivity, Agency, and the Prosodic Realization of Interpersonal Meaning

(4)

Vocal-tract Gestures and Grammar: Symptom and/or Supervenience?

(2)

The Intentional Character of Articulatory Activity

100

(3)

Embodying the Metafunctions: The Example of Vocal-tract Articulatory Activity

103

(2)

The Metafunctional Basis of Space and of Bodily Movement in Ecosocial Space-time

105

(3)

Body Dynamics, Meaning-making, and Scale Heterogeneity: Expression and Content as Cross-scalar Semiotic Processes Embedding the Body-brain in its Ecosocial Environment

The Dynamical Character of Expression and Content and the Cross-coupling of Diverse Scalar Levels of Semiotic Organization

108

(1)

The Expression Stratum and the Principle of Alternation

109

(7)

Stratification in Relation to Expression and Content

116

(2)

The Integration of Iconic, Indexical and Symbolic Modes of Meaning in Phonology

118

(2)

Rhythm and the Foot

120

(2)

The Metafunctional Organization of Phonology as seen from the Perspective of Rhythm and the Foot

122

(4)

The Integration of Iconic, Indexical and Symbolic Modes of Meaning in Lexicogrammar

126

(8)

Language as Particle, Wave, and Field

134

(5)

The Brain as Selective Recognition System: Language and Edelman's Theory of Recategorization

139

(7)

The Integration of Individuals to their Semiotic Trajectories

146

(2)

The Intrinsically Time-bound Nature of Semiosis: The Integration of Temporal Dynamics Across Scales of Expression and Content

148

(6)

Scalar Heterogeneity and the Phonological and Lexicogrammatical Rank Scales

154

(8)

The Emergence of Linguistic Categories from the Child's Primary Forceful Interactions with its Environment

162

(9)

Part III

The Semiotic Basis of Consciousness

First-person and Third-person Accounts of Consciousness

171

(2)

The Representation of Subjective Experience in Consciousness in Relation to the Higher-scalar Environment of the Individual

173

(3)

Locating the Seat of Consciousness

176

(8)

The Meaning-making Capacity of the Body-brain Complex through the Discrimination of Difference

184

(5)

Language Functions and the Cortical Organization of the Brain: Implications for Higher-order Consciousness

189

(6)

Experiential Meaning and the Assimilation of the Phenomena of Experience to Knowable Categories

195

(3)

Interpersonal Meaning as Exploratory and Orienting Activity in Relation to the Ground

198

(2)

The Textual Metafunction as Semiotic Means for Giving Unity and Wholeness to Meaning-making

200

(1)

Experiential and Interpersonal Meaning in Gaze

201

(1)

Proto-interpersonal Meaning and the Child's Exploration of its Environment

202

(3)

Bogdan's Theory of Mental Sharing and Topical Predication

205

(4)

Interpersonal Meaning, Value, and Action

209

(3)

Procedural Knowledge, Declarative Knowledge and the Semiotic Spiral towards Symbolic Consciousness

212

(3)

Interpersonal Meaning, Goal-seeking Activity, and the Goal Hierarchy

215

(2)

Consciousness and Semiotic Stratification

217

(7)

An Alternative Reading of Descartes in the Internalist Perspective of Interpretive Activity

224

(2)

The Entropic Character of Meaning

226

(1)

Consciousness as the Contextualization of Experience in the Perspective of the Self

227

(4)

The Embedding of Consciousness in a Higher-scalar System of Interpretance

231

(5)

The Metafunctional Character of Consciousness: Some Correlations Between the Neurobiological and Semiotic Dimensions

The Contextual Character of Consciousness

236

(2)

The Metafunctions and the Shape of Consciousness

238

(3)

Vague Contours of the Metafunctions in the Infant's Early Perceptual-motor Engagements with the Environment

241

(5)

The Structure of (Self)Consciousness in Perceptual Awareness

246

(2)

Damasio's Neurobiological Theory of Consciousness

248

(9)

The Proto-metafunctional Structure of Core and Extended Consciousness

257

(7)

Integrating the Interaction System and the Meaning System Perspectives on (Self) Consciousness

264

(3)

Minding the Gap between Minds: Mirror Neurons and Interpersonal Meaning

267

(4)

Inner Speech as Linguistically Realized Higher-order Thinking

271

(1)

The Metafunctional Character of Inner Speech as Linguistically Constituted Thought

272

(4)

The Re-grounding of the Perspectives of Self and Other in Symbolic Consciousness

276

(1)

Text, Social Meaning-making Practices and Higher-order Consciousness

277

(4)

Brain, Meaning, and Consciousness

Biological and Socio-cultural Factors Form a Single System of Complexly Related and Interacting Factors: Putting Time and Activity Back into the Picture

281

(2)

Re-interpreting Flohr's Brain-based Theory of Phenomenal Awareness: A Three-level Hierarchy View of the Emergence of Proto-meaning in the Brain

283

(6)

Brain, Meaning, and Symbolic Consciousness

289

(1)

The Embodiment of the Material and the Conscious Modes in Expression and Content

290

(5)

Periodicity and the Intrinsic Temporal Organization of the Expression Stratum of Speech on Diverse Scalar Levels

295

(1)

The Creation of Symbolic Objects of Consciousness in Semantic Neural Space

296

(4)

Contextualizing Relations, the Principle of Meta-redundancy, and the Brain as Contextualizing Tool

300

(2)

A Definition of Consciousness in Terms of the Semiosis that Occurs Within the Brain

302

(8)

The Three-level Hierarchy, Neuronal Activity, and the Emergence of the Self-perspective

310

(4)

Epilogue

314

(4)

References

318

(13)

Name Index

331

(3)

Subject Index

334

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Brain, Mind and the Signifying Body An Ecosocial Semiotic Theory

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

FREE SHIPPING

Rent More, Save More! Use code: BBRENTAL

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Brain, Mind and the Signifying Body An Ecosocial Semiotic Theory

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

Digital License