DOCSLIB.ORG

A Story of Resonance Vicente Raja MA in Philosophy, Universidad De Murcia (Spain) MA in Philosophy, University of Cincinnati (USA)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Story of Resonance Vicente Raja MA in Philosophy, Universidad De Murcia (Spain) MA in Philosophy, University of Cincinnati (USA) A Story of Resonance Vicente Raja MA in Philosophy, Universidad de Murcia (Spain) MA in Philosophy, University of Cincinnati (USA) A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Chair: Prof. Anthony Chemero May 24th, 2018 Department of Philosophy McMicken College of Arts and Sciences University of Cincinnati Abstract I will tell you a story. A story that is also a theory. A story of embodied cognition that is as well a story of neuroscience. A story about perception, action, and other psychological events. A story about the role of the brain in these events. A story of resonance and an ecological cognitive architecture. Ecological psychology, I contend, must be complemented with a story about the role of the CNS in perception, action, and cognition. To arrive at such a story while staying true to the tenets of ecological psychology, it will be necessary to flesh out the central metaphor according to which organisms perceive their environment by resonating to information in energy patterns: what is needed is a theory of resonance. Here I offer the two main elements of such a theory: a framework (Anderson’s neural reuse) and a methodology based on behavioral and coordination dynamics. In doing so, I examine the significance of embodiment, the explanatory strategy of ecological psychology, the compatibility of different cognitive architectures and ecological psychology, and the plausibility of resonance both in biological and explanatory terms. Finally, I review some future directions for the research on resonance. 2 3 “Such then would be the scope of pragmatism—first, a method; and second, a genetic theory of what is meant by truth” W. James, Pragmatism “We say that we are only criticizing some antiquated, specifically philosophical dogmas. But, of course, what we call dogmas are exactly what our opponents call common sense. Adherence to these dogmas is what they call being rational.” R. Rorty, Philosophy and Social Hope “… sea water, this man is painting the sea with the sea—and it is a thought that brings a shiver.” A. Baricco, Ocean Sea “Using words to talk of words is like using a pencil to draw a picture of itself, on itself.” Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind “None should ask you for the name of the one who tells the story.” Blind Guardian, The Bard’s Song 4 Acknowledgements My academic life is a lucky life. During all these years I have had the opportunity of meeting many people that have influenced and keep influencing my thought and my work. I am sure this dissertation would have been different if I had not met all these fantastic friends and scholars. I am in debt with and really grateful to all of them. First, I have to thank the four persons that I take to be my mentors and my major inspiration. The first one of them is my advisor, Tony Chemero. During my years at the grad school, I have lived one of the most awesome experiences a student can live: my favorite alive philosopher has been also my advisor. It is difficult to say to what extent I am influenced by his work and how much I have enjoyed each one of our conversations. To this point, it is not even important that he is obviously wrong about Dio and Black Sabbath, or about The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. I take my dissertation to be just a footnote to his Radical Embodied Cognitive Science. The second one is Paco Calvo. To say that he is one of the main reasons of whatever academic achievement I could make is just an understatement. He was the first person in academia that trusted in me, but not only that. He was the one who introduced me to the field of the cognitive sciences, he taught me the importance of being radical, he gave me the first opportunity to give a talk and to write an academic paper, he has been always smart and 5 supportive… This is a never-ending list. I still talk to him for advice when I have doubts regarding the path to follow. I just hope to be able to eventually work hard enough at the MINT Lab to give back some of his help. The third one is Monica Vilhauer. She was my philosophy professor the first time I came to the US. She taught me how to live philosophy with passion and how to write a philosophical paper. Her classes on Gadamer and Nietzsche are still among my favorite experiences in academia. And, more importantly, it was in her classes when I decided I wanted to follow the path of academia. I just wanted to be as a good philosopher as she is. And the last but not least is Patricio Peñalver. He was the professor of the first class on philosophy I took and a long-lasting influence on me. With him, I learnt that philosophy is interesting, profound, fun, and ironic. He was always willing to argue in class with a smile in his face. I have no doubt that if my first philosophy professor would have been another person, I would not be writing these lines right now. Of course, I have to thank the members of my dissertation committee. Valerie Hardcastle, Tom Polger, and Michael Anderson have made this dissertation to improve to an extent that would have been unimaginable without their questions, challenges, advice, and inspiration. Also, I have to thank the department of philosophy at University of Cincinnati for its support at many levels during the last four years. Both in the department of philosophy and in the department of psychology at University of Cincinnati I have found faculty and staff that have made my years at the grad school to be a great experience. Angela Potochnik, Zvi Biener, Steven Wilson, Larry Jost, John McEvoy, Jenefer Robinson, Heidi Kloos, Mike Riley, Mike Richardson, Kevin Shockley, and Paula Silva have helped me and taught me in innumerable occasions. And very special thanks to Vesna Kocani. The department of philosophy at University of Cincinnati would 6 not be the same without her and I do not know what would have happened to me without her help. All my grad and postgrad fellows deserve a place here. My days at grad school have been infinitely better thanks to my friends Satoshi, Ed, Gui, Chris, Patric, Frank, and Jonathan, and all the hours we have spent discussing about the perils of our ideas. Also, I cannot imagine better people to hang out with or to discuss about philosophy or psychology than Ethan, Louie, Maurice, Patrick, Walter, Richard, Chris, Johan, Kyle, Valentina, Tracy, Alex, Matt, Sahar, Amanda, Cory, Mirabel, Scott, and Jenny. Because of them, I am very happy I chose Cincinnati to pursue my PhD. Hay muchas otras personas a las que estoy muy agradecido por acompañarme en este viaje. Primero, sin duda, a Lore, Manolo, y Miguel. Ellos hacen que seguir pensando en información, percepción, affordances, o cualquier otra cosa sea mucho mas divertido. Y, por supuesto, a Valeria. Ella llegó al final para darle sentido a todo. Si tuviese que elegir qué me quiero llevar al resto de mi vida de mis años estudiando filosofía, ellos esturarían al principio de la lista. Por otra parte, no tengo palabras para describir lo que Chari, Markitos, Franin, y Tomás son para mí. Mejor no digo nada, porque en el fondo ellos ya lo saben. Me gusta ser como soy porque soy un poco como ellos. Tampoco me quiero olvidar de Los Quintos—Frutos, Cañi, Pelli, Chechu, Jose Luis, Pipa, Pep, Fran, y todos los demás—o de Lidia, Ana, Vane, Mari, Inés, mi paya Mari, y todos los que me dejo por ser un desastre. Por supuesto, el mayor de mis agradecimientos es para mi familia. Mis abuelas y abuelos, mis tíos y tías, mis primos y primas, mi hermano… Todos ellos han contribuido de una u otra forma a mi trabajo. Y, sin lugar a duda, mis padres. No hay agradecimiento bastante en este 7 mundo, en universos por descubrir, o en la mayor fantasía que la mente humana pueda imaginar. Mi mayor regalo es que puedan estar orgullosos de mí. I am sure I forget very important people I am grateful to. I hope they can forgive me. The ones here and the ones I am forgetting are fundamental parts of this work. Of course, you should blame them for whatever is wrong in the following lines, but… Who cares? I am happy they are my friends. 8 Table of Contents List of Figures ...............................................................................................................................10 Opening: A Story of Resonance ..................................................................................................11 Chapter 1: Philosophical Maneuvers in Embodiment .............................................................20 1.1 Embodiment .................................................................................................................21 1.2 Gibson ..........................................................................................................................29 1.3 Gibson, Mechanism, and Aristotelianism ....................................................................38 1.4 Further Consequences ..................................................................................................41 Chapter 2: Ecological Psychology and Resonance ....................................................................44 2.1 The Explanatory Strategy of Ecological Psychology ..................................................45 2.2 Resonance ....................................................................................................................53 2.3 Ecological Psychology as Anti-Computationalism .....................................................60 Interlude: The Significance of Embodiment .............................................................................67 I.1 Kepler or the
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Conductor Model of Online Speech Modulation
    The Conductor Model of Online Speech Modulation Fred Cummins Department of Computer Science, University College Dublin [email protected] Abstract. Two observations about prosodic modulation are made. Firstly, many prosodic parameters co-vary when speaking style is altered, and a similar set of variables are affected in particular dysarthrias. Second, there is a need to span the gap between the phenomenologically sim- ple space of intentional speech control and the much higher dimensional space of manifest effects. A novel model of speech production, the Con- ductor, is proposed which posits a functional subsystem in speech pro- duction responsible for the sequencing and modulation of relatively in- variant elements. The ways in which the Conductor can modulate these elements are limited, as its domain of variation is hypothesized to be a relatively low-dimensional space. Some known functions of the cortico- striatal circuits are reviewed and are found to be likely candidates for implementation of the Conductor, suggesting that the model may be well grounded in plausible neurophysiology. Other speech production models which consider the role of the basal ganglia are considered, leading to some observations about the inextricable linkage of linguistic and motor elements in speech as actually produced. 1 The Co-Modulation of Some Prosodic Variables It is a remarkable fact that speakers appear to be able to change many aspects of their speech collectively, and others not at all. I focus here on those prosodic variables which are collectively affected by intentional changes to speaking style, and argue that they are governed by a single modulatory process, the ‘Con- ductor’.
    [Show full text]
  • The Routledge Handbook of Embodied Cognition
    THE ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF EMBODIED COGNITION Embodied cognition is one of the foremost areas of study and research in philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology and cognitive science. The Routledge Handbook of Embodied Cognition is an outstanding guide and reference source to the key philosophers, topics and debates in this exciting subject and essential reading for any student and scholar of philosophy of mind and cognitive science. Comprising over thirty chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into six parts: Historical underpinnings Perspectives on embodied cognition Applied embodied cognition: perception, language, and reasoning Applied embodied cognition: social and moral cognition and emotion Applied embodied cognition: memory, attention, and group cognition Meta-topics. The early chapters of the Handbook cover empirical and philosophical foundations of embodied cognition, focusing on Gibsonian and phenomenological approaches. Subsequent chapters cover additional, important themes common to work in embodied cognition, including embedded, extended and enactive cognition as well as chapters on embodied cognition and empirical research in perception, language, reasoning, social and moral cognition, emotion, consciousness, memory, and learning and development. Lawrence Shapiro is a professor in the Department of Philosophy, University of Wisconsin – Madison, USA. He has authored many articles spanning the range of philosophy of psychology. His most recent book, Embodied Cognition (Routledge, 2011), won the American Philosophical Association’s Joseph B. Gittler award in 2013. Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy are state-of-the-art surveys of emerging, newly refreshed, and important fields in philosophy, providing accessible yet thorough assessments of key problems, themes, thinkers, and recent developments in research.
    [Show full text]
  • Radical Embodied Cognitive Science Anthony Chemero
    Radical Embodied Cognitive Science Anthony Chemero Radical Embodied Cognitive Science Radical Embodied Cognitive Science Anthony Chemero A Bradford Book The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England ( 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any elec- tronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. MIT Press books may be purchased at special quantity discounts for business or sales promotional use. For information, please email [email protected] or write to Special Sales Department, The MIT Press, 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. This book was set in Stone Serif and Stone Sans on 3B2 by Asco Typesetters, Hong Kong, and was printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chemero, Anthony, 1969–. Radical embodied cognitive science / Anthony Chemero. p. cm.—(A Bradford Book) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-262-01322-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Perception—Research. 2. Cognitive science. I. Title. BF311.B514 2009 153—dc22 2009001697 10987654321 For the crowd at Sweet William’s Pub Contents Preface: In Praise of Dr. Fodor ix Acknowledgments xiii I Stage Setting 1 1 Hegel, Behe, Chomsky, Fodor 3 2 Embodied Cognition and Radical Embodied Cognition 17 II Representation and Dynamics 45 3 Theories of Representation 47 4 The Dynamical Stance 67 5 Guides to Discovery 85 III Ecological Psychology 103 6 Information and Direct Perception 105 7 Affordances, etc. 135 IV Philosophical Consequences 163 8 Neurophilosophy Meets Radical Embodied Cognitive Science 165 9 The Metaphysics of Radical Embodiment 183 10 Coda 207 Notes 209 References 221 Index 245 Preface: In Praise of Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Carol A. Fowler's Perspective on Language by Eye
    Ecological Psychology ISSN: 1040-7413 (Print) 1532-6969 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/heco20 Carol A. Fowler's Perspective on Language by Eye Donald Shankweiler To cite this article: Donald Shankweiler (2016) Carol A. Fowler's Perspective on Language by Eye, Ecological Psychology, 28:3, 130-137, DOI: 10.1080/10407413.2016.1195182 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10407413.2016.1195182 Published online: 02 Aug 2016. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 133 View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=heco20 ECOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2016, VOL. 28, NO. 3, 130–137 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10407413.2016.1195182 Carol A. Fowler’s Perspective on Language by Eye 1931 Donald Shankweilera,b aDepartment of Psychology, University of Connecticut; bHaskins Laboratories ABSTRACT This article considers highlights of Carol Fowler’s development as a scientist against the background of major developments in the fields of ecological psychology, speech research, and the psychology of language. Beginning from her graduate student years, the focus is on those aspects of Fowler’s research that pertain most directly to the relations between speech and reading. Graduate studies in the psychology of perception and language Carol Fowler, who as an undergraduate had begun the study of psychology and language at Brown University, moved to the University of Connecticut for graduate work arriving in 1971. She says she chose the University of Connecticut because while at Brown, at the suggestion of oneofherprofessors,shehadreadandadmiredanarticle,“Perception of the Speech Code” (A.M.Libermanetal.,1967), by University of Connecticut Professor Alvin M.
    [Show full text]
  • Anthony Chemero
    III Ecological Psychology The rules that govern behavior are not like laws enforced by an authority or decisions made by a commander: behavior is regular without being regulated. The question is how this can be. —James J. Gibson, The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception (1979) 6 Information and Direct Perception The purpose of this chapter and the next is to describe Gibsonian ecologi- cal psychology and to show that it can serve as an appropriate theoretical backdrop for radical embodied cognitive science. It hardly makes sense to do so other than in the context of the theoretical work of Michael Turvey, Robert Shaw, and William Mace. Since the 1970s, Turvey, Shaw, and Mace have worked on the formulation of a philosophically sound and empiri- cally tractable version of James Gibson’s ecological psychology. It is surely no exaggeration to say that without their theoretical work ecological psy- chology would have died on the vine because of high-profile attacks from establishment cognitive scientists (e.g., Fodor and Pylyshyn 1981). But thanks to Turvey, Shaw, and Mace’s work as theorists and, perhaps more important, as teachers, ecological psychology is currently flourishing. A generation of students, having been trained by Turvey, Shaw, and Mace at Trinity College and/or the University of Connecticut, are now distin- guished experimental psychologists who train their own students in Turvey-Shaw-Mace ecological psychology. Despite the undeniable and last- ing importance of Turvey, Shaw, and Mace’s theoretical contributions for psychology and the other cognitive sciences, their work has not received much attention from philosophers.
    [Show full text]
  • Michael Turvey Pioneering Work in Ecological Phycology
    Michael Turvey pioneering work in ecological phycology Michael T. Turvey is the Board of Trustees' Distinguished Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Connecticut and a Senior Scientist at Haskins Laboratories in New Haven, Connecticut. He is best known for his pioneering work in ecological psychology and in applying dynamic systems approach for the study of motor behavior. He is the founder of the Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action. His research spans a number of areas including: dynamic touch and haptics, interlimb coordination, visual perception and optic flow, postural stability, visual word recognition and speech perception. Along with William Mace and Robert Shaw, he has been one of the leading explicators of the ecological psychology of J. J. Gibson. His pioneering work with J. A. Scott Kelsoand Peter N. Kugler introduced the physical language of complex systems to the understanding of perception and action. He also helped to introduce the ideas of Russian motor control theorist, Nikolai Bernstein, and his colleagues to a larger audience. Working with Georgije Lukatela and others at Haskins Laboratories, he exploited the dual nature of the Serbo-Croatianorthography to help understand word recognition. Turvey is also the winner of the IgNobel Prize in Physics along with Prof. Ramesh Balasubramaniam of Cognitive & Information Sciences at the University of California, Merced or exploring and explaining the dynamics of hula-hooping. (Reference: "Coordination Modes in the Multisegmental Dynamics of Hula Hooping," Ramesh Balasubramaniam and Michael T. Turvey, Biological Cybernetics, vol. 90, no. 3, March 2004, pp. 176–90.) • Cognitive science • Embodied cognitive science 1 • Experimental psychology • Haptic perception • Ecological psychology • Dynamic systems • Haskins Laboratories • Perception • Psychology • University of Connecticut • Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action • Haskins Laboratories • Turvey page at Uconn • University of Connecticut Psychology MICHAEL T.
    [Show full text]
  • Ed 366 020 Author Title
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 366 020 CS 508 427 AUTHOR Fowler, Carol A., Ed. TITLE Spee:11 Research Status Report, January-March 1993. INSTITUTION Haskins Labs., New Haven, Conn. -REPORT NO SR-113 PUB DATE 93 NOTE 214p.; For the previous report, see ED 359 575. PUB TYPE Collected Works General (020) Reports Research/Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC09 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Adults; *Articulation (Speech); *Beginning Reading; Chinese; Communication Research; Elementary Secondary Education; French; Higher Education; Infants; Language Acquisition; Language Research; Music; Reading Writing Relationship; *Speech Communication; Spelling; Thai IDENTIFIERS Speech Research ABSTRACT One of a series of quarterly reports, this publication contains 14 articles which report the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instruments for its investigation, and practical applications. Articles in the publication are: "Some Assumptions about Speech and How They Changed" (Alvin M. Liberman); "On the Intonation of Sinusoidal Sentences: Contour and Pitch Height" (Robert E. Remez and Philip E. Rubin); "The Acquisition of Prosody: Evidence from French- and English-Learning Infants" (Andrea G. Levitt); "Dynamics and Articulatory Phonology" (Catherine P. Browman and Louis Goldstein); "Some Organizational Characteristics of Speech Movement Control" (Vincent L. Gracco); "The Quasi-Steady Approximation in Speech Production" (Richard S. McGowan); "Implementing a Genetic Algorithm to Recover Task-Dynamic Parameters of an Articulatory Speech Synthesizer" (Richard S. McGowan); "An MRI-Based Study of Pharyngeal Volume Contrasts in Akan" (Mark K. Tiede); "Thai" (M. R. Kalaya Tingsabadh and Arthur S. Abramson); "On the Relations between Learning to Spell and Learning to Read" (Donald Shankweiler and Eric Lundquist); "Word Superiority in Chinese" (Ignatious G.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae Richard C. Schmidt
    CURRICULUM VITAE RICHARD C. SCHMIDT Box 176A 50 Wood St. College of the Holy Cross Jefferson, MA 01522 1 College St. (508) 829-7388 Worcester, MA 01610 (508) 793-2244 [email protected] EDUCATION University of Connecticut B.A. Psychology 1982 University of Connecticut Ph.D. Experimental Psychology 1988 CESPA, University of Connecticut Post Doc Interlimb Coordination 1991 ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS College of the Holy Cross E. A. O'Rorke Professor in Liberal Arts 7/15 – present University Montpellier Associate Research Professor, EuroMov 9/15 – present College of the Holy Cross Professor 9/10 – present CESPA, University of Connecticut Research Fellow 8/91 – present College of the Holy Cross Psychology Department Chair 1/06 – 6/08 College of the Holy Cross Associate Professor 9/99 – 8/10 College of the Holy Cross Assistant Professor 9/95 – 9/99 LSU Department of Kinesiology Adjunct Assistant Professor 3/94 – 7/95 Tulane University Assistant Professor 8/91 – 7/95 University of Connecticut Lecturer 9/88 – 12/89 RESEARCH INTERESTS Social Motor Coordination, Breakdown of Interpersonal Coordination in Autism and Schizophrenia, Time Series Analysis, Dynamical Theories of Coordination, Development of Coordinated Movements, Embodied and Embedded Theories of Meaning, Coordination of Speech and Gesture, Relationship of Movement Timing to Reading Skill COURSES TAUGHT Cognition and Memory; Statistics; Research Methods; Connected Bodies, Coupled Minds; Psychology of Music; Biology of Consciousness; Body, Emotion and Thought; Cognitive Neuroscience; Coordination of Movement EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH GRANTS 2013 – 2018 Principal Investigator. Modeling the Behavioral Dynamics of Social Action and Coordination. National Institutes of Health 1R01GM105045 ($1.45 million in collaboration with Mike Richardson at the Cincinnati University and Elliot Saltzman at Boston University).
    [Show full text]
  • Ecological Psychologies As Philosophies of Perception
    Faculty of Arts Department of Philosophy Ecological Psychologies as Philosophies of Perception On Explaining how we Perceive what we can Do Dissertation submitted for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy at the University of Antwerp to be defended by Jan Van Eemeren Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Erik Myin Antwerp, 2018 Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte Departement Wijsbegeerte Ecologische Psychologie als Filosofie van Waarnemen Over Verklaren hoe we Waarnemen wat we kunnen Doen Proefschrift voorgelegd tot het behalen van de graad van doctor in de wijsbegeerte aan de Universiteit Antwerpen te verdedigen door Jan Van Eemeren Promotor: Prof. Dr. Erik Myin Antwerpen, 2018 Voor Stef en Médard CONTENTS Introducing the Philosophy of Perception ........................................................1 1 Introducing Gibson’s Ecological Approach to Perception .........................9 1.1 INTRODUCING JAMES GIBSON ................................................................................... 9 1.2 INTRODUCING THE ENVIRONMENT........................................................................... 10 1.3 ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION ................................................................................... 12 1.3.1 Ecological optics vs. the poverty of the stimulus argument .................. 12 1.3.2 Invariants of the ambient optic array .................................................... 16 1.3.3 Affordances ............................................................................................ 19 1.4 SO HOW DOES IT WORK? .......................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • O'brien, Nancy, Status Report on Speech Research
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 266 508 CS 505 201 AUTHOR Studdert-Kennedy, Michael, Ed.; O'Brien, Nancy, Ed. TITLE Status Report on Speech Research: A Report on the Status and Progress of StudieE on the Nature of Speech, Instrumentation for Its Investigation, and Practical Applications, April 1-September 30, 1985. INSTITUTION Haskins Labs., New Haven, Conn. SPONS AGENCY National Institutes of Health (DBMS), Bethesda, Md.; National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.; Office of Naval Research, Washington, D.0 REPORT NO SR-82/83(1985) PUB DATE 85 CONTRACT NICHHD-N01-HD-5-2910; ONR-N00014-83-K-0083 GRANT NICHHD-HD-01994; NICHHD-HD-16591; NIHBRS-RR-05596; NIMCDS-NS-13617; NINCDS-NS-13870; NINCDS-NS-18010; NSF-BNS-8111470 NOTE 289p. AVAILA3LE FROMU.S. Department of Commerce, National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, VA 22151. PUB TYPE Reports - Research/Technical (143) -- Information Analyses (070) -- Collected Works - General (020) EDRS PRICE MFO1 /PC12 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Articulation (Speech); Cognitive Processes; *Communication Research; Language Acquisition; *Language Research; Linguistic Theory; *Morphology (Languages); Orthographic Symbols; Perceptual Development; Perceptual Motor Coordination; Phonemes; *Speech Communication; Spelling ABSTRACT One of a regular series on the statu. and progress of research into the nature of speech, instrumentation for its investigation, and practical applications, this report consists of 17 papers dealing with the following topics: (1) vagueness and fictions as cornerstones
    [Show full text]
  • The Motor Theory of Speech Perception Revised* Haskins Laboratories
    Cognition, 21 (1985) l-36 1 The motor theory of speech perception revised* ALVIN M. LIBERMAN Haskins Laboratories, Universityof Connecticut and Yale University IGNATIUS G. MATTINGLY Haskins Laboratories and University of Connecticut Abstract A motor theory of speech perception, initially proposed to account for results of early experiments with synthetic speech, is now extensively revised to accom- modate recent findings, and to relate the assumptions of the theory to those that might be made about other perceptual modes. According to the revised theory, phonetic information is perceived in a biologically distinct system, a ‘module’ specialized to detect the intended gestures of the speaker that are the basis for phonetic categories. Built into the structure of this module is the unique but lawful relationship between the gestures and the acoustic patterns in which they are variously overlapped. In consequence, the module causes perception of phonetic structure without translation from preliminary auditory impressions. Thus, it is comparable to such other modules as the one that enables an animal to localize sound. Peculiar to the phonetic module are the relation between perception and production it incorporates and the fact that it must compete with other modules for the same stimulus variations. Together with some of our colleagues, we have long been identified with a view of speech perception that is often referred to as a ‘motor theory’. Not the motor theory, to be sure, because there are other theories of perception that, like ours, assign an important role to movement or its sources. But the *The writing of this paper was supported by a grant to Haskins Laboratories (NIH-NICHD HD-01994).
    [Show full text]