Catalogo dei Corsi di studio

From Cognitive Semantics to Cognitive Semiotics, and back

The course aims to investigate the principal areas of research falling within the field of cognitive semantics, insisting on its hybrid collocation between psychology, linguistics, philosophy of language, and mind sciences. The first part will be devoted to introducing the key notions of the discipline (frame semantics, conceptual metaphor theory, mental spaces, conceptual blending, etc.). Given that both the first and second (as well as eventually, the third) generations of cognitive science end up marginalizing the role of semiotic mediation, the quest for a semiotic integration of the cognitive approaches will be deeply discussed. In fact, the empirical and experimental vocation of cognitive semantics tends to bypass the theoretical knots related to the convergence of mental constructions (representations in a strong or weak sense), providing few and superficial answers to the question of the "collectivization" of meaning. 

The second part of the course, from the standpoint of semiotic integration of cognitive semantics, cross-examines the thought of two "classic" authors, often recalled in support of "constructionist" or socio-cognitive hypotheses: Lev Vygotskij and Jean Piaget. An attempt will be made to clarify the relationship between psychology, linguistics, and semantics, outlining a "cognitive" theory of meaning that accounts for both the genetic-biological substratum and the sociocultural components simultaneously at play, on both the phylogenetic and ontogenetic levels, in the sense-making practices.

The first part of the course will mainly consist of frontal lessons, while the second part will stimulate open discussion, also increasing direct involvement through the flipped-classroom methodology.

The examination consists of an oral interview exclusively in English. Students may request to take part of the exam in written form, with the production of a paper, written in English, on one of the topics of the program connecting the two “classic” texts. The content and form of the paper must be agreed with the lecturer. The paper, which must be emailed to the lecturer 10 days before the chosen exam call, will be given 40 percent of the final grade. The oral interview aims to test not only knowledge of the theories of the authors covered, exhibiting specialized and appropriate vocabulary, but also the critical ability to relate "classical" notions with the most characteristic themes of contemporary debate. 

Knowledge of the three texts in the program is the minimum requirement for passing the exam. Grades above 27 will be awarded to students who also show critical and argumentative skills.

1. Brandt, Per Aage, Cognitive Semiotics. Signs, Mind, and Meaning, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.
2. Vygotskij, Lev S., 1934; Engl transl. Thought and Language, revised and expanded edition, Cambridge MA-London, MIT Press, 2012.
3. Piaget, J., 1923; Engl. transl. The Language and Thought of the Child, London-New York, Routledge, 2001. 
4. Further readings will be suggested during the lessons.

Vedi corso di Semantica per Filosofia e Intelligenza Artificiale.

Natural Language Processing and Understanding: the perspective of theoretical linguistics

The course aims to provide the essential theoretical tools to elucidate issues related to Natural Language Processing and Understanding. The current development of technologies based on deep neural networks implies an epistemological reflection that brings into play the rule-based modeling of traditional Artificial Intelligence, based on bottom-up formal models. Thanks to machine learning, centered on the neural network model, the treatment of natural language can include encyclopedic models of knowledge, which represented the main limitation of traditional AI. The first part of the course will consist of an introduction to post-Saussurean and structuralist linguistics in the peculiar version proposed by Tullio De Mauro, which enhances together the bio-cognitive basis and the sociocultural matrix of semiotic and linguistic experience, hinging on the indeterminacy and vagueness of meaning. The second part, on the heels of the aforementioned perspective, will explore the lines of continuity between theoretical linguistics and recent developments in deep neural network models. An attempt will be made to connect theory and object: if the former defines the latter, linguistic theory can in turn clarify itself in a new light.

Lessons: The first part of the course will mainly consist of frontal lessons, while the second part will stimulate open discussion, also increasing direct involvement. The modalities of direct involvement will be specified during the course, depending on the number of students and their willingness to cooperate.

Evaluation: The exam consists of a written test and an oral interview. 

The written test will include 5 closed questions and 5 open questions. Correct closed questions will be given 2 points; open questions will be given a score from 0 to 4 for each. The test will concern De Mauro's book and will be held on the first call of each session. The grade obtained, which will weigh 40% on the final grade, will be valid for the entire session. 

The oral interview will cover Gastaldi’s papers and will aim to test, in addition to knowledge of the texts and a satisfactory acquisition of the specialized vocabulary, also critical and argumentative skills. 

Grades above 28 will be awarded to students who, in addition to demonstrating knowledge of the topics (a minimum requirement for passing the exam), also demonstrate a wide-ranging acquisition of the specialized vocabulary as well as an ability to critically elaborate contents.

To study:

1. De Mauro, Tullio, Lezioni di linguistica teorica, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2008.
2. Gastaldi, Juan Luis, “Why Can Computers Understand Natural Language? The Structuralist Image of Language BehindWord Embeddings”, Philosophy & Technology, (2021) 34:149–214.
3. Gastaldi, Juan Luis & Pellissier, Luc, “The calculus of language: explicit representation of emergent linguistic structure through type theoretical paradigms”, Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 46:4, 569-590, DOI: 10.1080/03080188.2021.1890484 - https://doi.org/10.1080/03080188.2021.1890484

4. Further readings will be suggested during the course.

Vedi Semantica per Filosofia e Intelligenza Artificiale.

See Cognitive Semantics for Philosophy's students.

Monday: 12.30-14-30 Room XI Villa Mirafiori

Tuesday: 12.30-14-30 Room XI Villa Mirafiori

Start: March 6, 2023.

The embodiment of language: open questions and conceptual shortcomings

The course aims to investigate the main theoretical issues coming from the "family of theories" of Cognitive Semantics, illustrating its hybrid collocation between linguistics and cognitive grammar, and the sciences of the mind in the broadest sense. First, the split between the first and second cognitive revolution will be investigated, showing the breaking points, but also the persistent substratum, tangible in many approaches such as the conceptual theory of metaphor, of the identification of meaning with the conceptual element, internal to the mind, and the instrumental conception of language, which is a legacy of the Chomskyan paradigm. The second part of the course will instead focus on questioning the internal, representational and computational nature of the meaning / concept in the context of the "embodied" theories, illustrating the issue of the intersubjectivity of language. In particular, the criticism but also the need for a notion of representation will be discussed in the perspective of a semiotic conception of the processes of signification, apparently rejected both by “brain-bound” approaches and by more radical "embodied" theories.

Didactic methodology: The first part of the course will mainly consist of frontal lessons, while the second part will stimulate open discussion, also increasing a direct involvement through the flipped-classroom methodology.

Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended.

The exam consists of an oral interview in English. However, students may request to write a paper on one of the topics discussed during the course. The content and the form of the paper must be agreed with the professor. The paper, which must be delivered by email 10 days before the chosen exam call, will be awarded 40% of the final grade.

To study:

Jordan Zlatev, Timothy P. Racine, Chris Sinha & Esa Itkonen, The Shared Mind. Perspectives on intersubjectivity, Amsterdam - Philadelphia, John Benjamins Publishing Company.

References

Paolucci C. (2021), Cognitive Semiotics. Integrating Signs, Minds, Meaning and Cognition, Springer. 

Eco, U. (2007). Dall’albero al labirinto. Studi storici sul segno e l’interpretazione, Milano, Bompiani. English edition: (2014) From the Tree to the Labyrinth: Historical Studies on the Sign and Interpretation Cambridge, Harvard University Press.

Gallagher, S. (2017). Enactivist interventions: Rethinking the mind, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Varela, F.; Thompson, E. T.; Rosch, E. (1991), The embodied mind, MIT Press, Cambridge MA.

Bottineau, D. (2010), “Language and Enaction”, in Stewart, J.; Gapenne, O.; Di Paolo, E.A., Enaction. Toward a New Paradigm for Cognitive Science, MIT Press, Cambridge MA.

Further reading will be suggested during the lessons and made available on the Google Classrom, which attending and non-attending students will be invited to join.

Monday: 15.30-17.30
Tuesday: 15.30-17.30
Friday: 10.30-13.30

Room VIII Villa Mirafiori

Start: March 3, 2023

The notion of Meaning, comparing psychology, linguistics and cognitive sciences

The course aims to offer a first introduction to Semantics in its various branches (linguistic, logical-philosophical and cognitive). 

In the first part the reflection will mainly focus on the “object” of semantics, starting from the reading of some classic pages of XIX and XX centuries linguistics and philosophy of language, as to trace the common thread of some recent approaches which, in the context of the philosophy of language and mind, and cognitive sciences, challenge the notion of meaning as mental content, reopening the debate on “internalism” and “externalism”. 

Having clarified the main theoretical issues of traditional semantic approaches, the second part of the course will retain a more monographic character, proposing a detailed analysis of Karl Bühler’s Sprachteorie (1934). The work of the German linguist and psychologist seems, indeed, to allow a critical reframing of the philosophical, linguistic and psychological debate involving the core notions of "sign", “meaning” and "field". Further readings will be provided to scrutinize the current phenomenological reinterpretations of some classical issues of structural linguistics and semantics, aiming at highlighting the both cognitive and socio-pragmatic nature of sign and of meaning.

The first part of the course will mainly consist of frontal lessons, while the second part will aim at stimulating open discussion. The modalities of the direct involvement of the students will be specified during the course, depending on the numbers of students and on their willingness to cooperate.

Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended. 

The exam consists of an oral interview in English. However, students may request to write a paper on one of the topics discussed during the course. The content and the form of the paper must be agreed with the professor. The paper, which must be delivered by email 10 days before the chosen exam call, will be awarded 40% of the final grade.

To study:

1. Filomena Diodato, Teorie semantiche. Dal segno al testo, Napoli: Liguori editore, Napoli 2013 (o edd. successive).
2. Karl Bühler, Teoria del linguaggio. La funzione rappresentativa del linguaggio, Armando, Roma (1983) – ed. or. (1934) Sprachtheorie. Die Darstellungsfunktion der Sprache, Jena: Fischer.

References

Cattaruzza, S. (2008), L'indicazione della realtà. Teoria dei segni e della conoscenza in Karl Bühler, Mimesis.

De Palo M. (2016), Saussure e gli strutturalismi. Il soggetto parlante nel pensiero linguistico del Novecento, Carocci.

Gensini S. (2012, a cura di), Filosofie della comunicazione, Carocci.

Further reading will be suggested during the lessons and made available on the Google Classrom, which attending and non-attending students will be invited to join.

The embodiment of language: open questions and conceptual shortcomings

The course aims to investigate the main theoretical issues coming from the "family of theories" of Cognitive Semantics, illustrating its hybrid collocation between linguistics and cognitive grammar, and the sciences of the mind in the broadest sense. First, the split between the first and second cognitive revolution will be investigated, showing the breaking points, but also the persistent substratum, tangible in many approaches such as the conceptual theory of metaphor, of the identification of meaning with the conceptual element, internal to the mind, and the instrumental conception of language, which is a legacy of the Chomskyan paradigm. The second part of the course will instead focus on questioning the internal, representational and computational nature of the meaning / concept in the context of the "embodied" theories, illustrating the issue of the intersubjectivity of language. In particular, the criticism but also the need for a notion of representation will be discussed in the perspective of a semiotic conception of the processes of signification, apparently rejected both by “brain-bound” approaches and by more radical "embodied" theories.

Didactic methodology: The first part of the course will mainly consist of frontal lessons, while the second part will stimulate open discussion, also increasing a direct involvement through the flipped-classroom methodology.

Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended.

The exam consists of an oral interview in English. However, students may request to write a paper on one of the topics discussed during the course. The content and the form of the paper must be agreed with the professor. The paper, which must be delivered by email 10 days before the chosen exam call, will be awarded 40% of the final grade.

To study:

Jordan Zlatev, Timothy P. Racine, Chris Sinha & Esa Itkonen, The Shared Mind. Perspectives on intersubjectivity, Amsterdam - Philadelphia, John Benjamins Publishing Company.

References

Paolucci C. (2021), Cognitive Semiotics. Integrating Signs, Minds, Meaning and Cognition, Springer. 

Eco, U. (2007). Dall’albero al labirinto. Studi storici sul segno e l’interpretazione, Milano, Bompiani. English edition: (2014) From the Tree to the Labyrinth: Historical Studies on the Sign and Interpretation Cambridge, Harvard University Press.

Gallagher, S. (2017). Enactivist interventions: Rethinking the mind, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Varela, F.; Thompson, E. T.; Rosch, E. (1991), The embodied mind, MIT Press, Cambridge MA.

Bottineau, D. (2010), “Language and Enaction”, in Stewart, J.; Gapenne, O.; Di Paolo, E.A., Enaction. Toward a New Paradigm for Cognitive Science, MIT Press, Cambridge MA.

Further reading will be suggested during the lessons and made available on the Google Classrom, which attending and non-attending students will be invited to join.