The Freedom of Words
Abstractness and the Power of Language

An exploration of how language shapes our mental and social lives, with a focus on abstract language and thought.

Anna M. Borghi (Author)

9781108842907, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 10 August 2023

305 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.617 kg

The Freedom of Words is for anyone interested in understanding the role of body and language in cognition and how humans developed the sophisticated ability to use abstract concepts like 'freedom' and 'thinking'. This volume adopts a transdisciplinary perspective, including philosophy, semiotics, psychology, and neuroscience, to show how language, as a tool, shapes our minds and influences our interaction with the physical and social environment. It develops a theory showing how abstract concepts in their different varieties enhance cognition and profoundly influence our social and affective life. It addresses how children learn such abstract concepts, details how they vary across languages and cultures, and outlines the link between abstractness and the capability to detect inner bodily signals. Overall, the book shows how words – abstract words in particular, because of their indeterminate and open character – grant us freedom.

Introduction
Part I. The Power of Language: 1. Language as a physical tool
2. Language as an inner/cognitive tool
3. Language as a social tool
4. Evolving language in interaction
Part II. Abstractness: 5. Different varieties of abstract concepts
6. Abstractness and language as physical tool
7. Abstractness and language as an inner tool
8. Abstractness and language as a social tool
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Cognition & cognitive psychology [JMR]