Embodied cognition and the problem of abstract concepts

Abstract

The paper addresses the issue of abstract concepts in the embodied and grounded theories of language. This issue seems to be one of the fundamental challenges facing the theories from this group. The aim of this work is to discuss the essence of the problem and to present the most interesting attempts to solve the aforementioned challenge. To this end, we will begin by characterizing the approach of researchers in embodied cognition to the study of language. In the following section, we will look at research data showing differences in the meaning-making processes for abstract and concrete concepts by natural cognitive systems. This section will be followed by a presentation of selected strategies of addressing the problem of abstractness in the research paradigm under discussion. We will conclude with some observations about a grounded and embodied model of language as a whole.