
Cognitive Pragmatics
The Mental Processes of Communication
Bruno G. Bara(Author)
Bradford Books (Publisher)
Published on 28. May 2010
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-0-262-01411-3 (ISBN)
Description
An argument that communication is a cooperative activity between agents, who together consciously and intentionally construct the meaning of their interaction.In Cognitive Pragmatics, Bruno Bara offers a theory of human communication that is both formalized through logic and empirically validated through experimental data and clinical studies. Bara argues that communication is a cooperative activity in which two or more agents together consciously and intentionally construct the meaning of their interaction. In true communication (which Bara distinguishes from the mere transmission of information), all the actors must share a set of mental states.Bara takes a cognitive perspective, investigating communication not from the viewpoint of an external observer (as is the practice in linguistics and the philosophy of language) but from within the mind of the individual. Bara examines communicative interaction through the notion of behavior and dialogue games, which structure both the generation and the comprehension of the communication act (either language or gesture). He describes both standard communication and nonstandard communication (which includes deception, irony, and "as-if" statements). Failures are analyzed in detail, with possible solutions explained. Bara investigates communicative competence in both evolutionary and developmental terms, tracing its emergence from hominids to Homo sapiens and defining the stages of its development in humans from birth to adulthood. He correlates his theory with the neurosciences, and explains the decay of communication that occurs both with different types of brain injury and with Alzheimer's disease. Throughout, Bara offers supporting data from the literature and his own research. The innovative theoretical framework outlined by Bara will be of interest not only to cognitive scientists and neuroscientists but also to anthropologists, linguists, and developmental psychologists.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Massachusetts
United States
Publishing group
MIT Press Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
48 s/w Abbildungen
48 b&w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
567 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-262-01411-3 (9780262014113)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Bruno G. Bara is Director of the Center for Cognitive Sciences at the University and Polytechnic of Turin, Italy.