Interpretation for the Bodies: Bridging the Gap

Abstract

Abstract Embodiment is one of the key concepts of contemporary “second-generation” cognitive science. Our cognitive faculties are embodied because they are not only physically realized in, but also fundamentally shaped by, the make-up and sensorimotor structures of the human body. Further, second-generation cognitive science posits a feedback loop between bioevolutionary constraints on cognition and human cultures. My article seeks to position literary interpretation vis-à-vis this feedback loop. First, I define literary interpretation as the articulation of a text's relevance on the basis of a background of presuppositions and biases. Second, I relate these presuppositions and biases to the notion of embodiment, showing how literary interpretation interacts with evolutionary, cognitive, phenomenological, linguistic, and existential factors. By exploring this “embodiment spectrum” and the ways in which it impacts literary meaning-making, I attempt to bridge the gap between scientific models and literary interpretation without sidelining the complexity and autonomy of interpretation.

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