April 4 – Rafael Nunez (Introduction) “So What is ‘Embodiment,’ Really? Trends, Debates, Issues and How to Figure this Out”

For the last two decades, the term "embodied”—as in "embodied cognition", "embodied learning", and "embodied communication"—has become very fashionable in areas investigating the mind, such as psychology, linguistics, anthropology, design, human computer interaction, mathematics education, robotics, somatics, artificial intelligence, and, of course, cognitive science. But, what is embodiment? A philosophical view? A theoretical approach? A methodological technique? A review of the literature shows that it is a very polysemous term. There are, indeed, many different—although somewhat related, concepts of embodiment. Some differences are the result of natural differences in focus and methodology among the various disciplines, often leading to mutually consistent views. But some differences are much deeper, resulting from mutually inconsistent postulates and theoretical assumptions. In this introductory presentation I won't try to propose a unification of the concept of embodiment (basically an impossible task), but rather, I'll present an overview of the work done under the umbrella of embodiment. I’ll analyze a taxonomy that may help clarifying what is involved in the various concepts of “embodiment” and the work they sustain.