Levels of immersion and embodiment

Theresa Schilhab

pp. 241-251

in: Theresa Schilhab, Frederik Stjernfelt, Terrence W. Deacon (eds), The symbolic species evolved, Berlin, Springer, 2012

Abstract

Contemporary neuroscience seems to suggest that conceptual understanding as in reading and discourse at least in part is perceptually and sensory-somatically corroborated. In other words, conceptual knowledge seems to involve reenacting forms of perceptual experiences. However, in many aspects of life we do not have first hand experiences of the concepts we master to perfection. Who has ever had personal experiences with unicorns, the ice ages or Big Bang? In this chapter, I expand on the relation between symbol use as it applies to the linguistic exchange in professional communities and different levels of immersion in the associated practices to clarify the issue of levels of embodiment from a cognitive point of view.