Prior to the twentieth century, theories of knowledge were inherently perceptual. Since then, developments in logic, statis- tics, and programming languages have inspired amodal theories that rest on principles fundamentally different from those underlying perception. In addition, perceptual approaches have become widely viewed as untenable because they are assumed to implement record- ing systems, not conceptual systems. A perceptual theory of knowledge is developed here in the context of current cognitive science and neuroscience. During perceptual experience, association areas in the brain capture bottom-up patterns of activation in sensory-motor areas. Later, in a top-down manner, association areas partially reactivate sensory-motor areas to implement perceptual symbols. The stor- age and reactivation of perceptual symbols operates at the level of perceptual components - not at the level of holistic perceptual expe- riences. Through the use of selective attention, schematic representations of perceptual components are extracted from experience and stored in memory (e.g., individual memories of green, purr, hot). As memories of the same component become organized around a com- mon frame, they implement a simulator that produces limitless simulations of the component (e.g., simulations of purr). Not only do such simulators develop for aspects of sensory experience, they also develop for aspects of proprioception (e.g., lift, run) and introspec- tion (e.g., compare, memory, happy, hungry). Once established, these simulators implement a basic conceptual system that represents types, supports categorization, and produces categorical inferences. These simulators further support productivity, propositions, and ab- stract concepts, thereby implementing a fully functional conceptual system. Productivity results from integrating simulators combinato- rially and recursively to produce complex simulations. Propositions result from binding simulators to perceived individuals to represent type-token relations. Abstract concepts are grounded in complex simulations of combined physical and introspective events. Thus, a per- ceptual theory of knowledge can implement a fully functional conceptual system while avoiding problems associated with amodal sym- bol systems. Implications for cognition, neuroscience, evolution, development, and artificial intelligence are explored.

/pdf/perceptual-symbol-systems-4spsk97r61.pdf

Perceptual symbol systems.

Let's start from scratch in thinking about what memory is for, and consequently, how it works. Suppose that memory and conceptualization work in the service of perception and action. In this case, conceptualization is the encoding of patterns of possible physical interaction with a three-dimensional world. These patterns are constrained by the structure of the environment, the structure of our bodies, and memory. Thus, how we perceive and conceive of the environment is determined by the types of bodies we have. Such a memory would not have associations. Instead, how concepts become related (and what it means to be related) is determined by how separate patterns of actions can be combined given the constraints of our bodies. I call this combination "mesh." To avoid hallucination, conceptualization would normally be driven by the environment, and patterns of action from memory would play a supporting, but automatic, role. A significant human skill is learning to suppress the overriding contribution of the environment to conceptualization, thereby allowing memory to guide conceptualization. The effort used in suppressing input from the environment pays off by allowing prediction, recollective memory, and language comprehension. I review theoretical work in cognitive science and empirical work in memory and language comprehension that suggest that it may be possible to investigate connections between topics as disparate as infantile amnesia and mental-model theory.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0140525X97000010

What memory is for.

Mixing, however briefly, with aphasic subjects is sufficient to show that though survives language alterations. Everyone's experience of forgetting proper names and common nouns clearly shows that concepts outlive words. Analyzing puns and allusions also reveals that the meaning of a word depends on a context of signification which may or may not be supplied verbally. Studying thought without language in both animals and infants provides evidence not only that language facilitates the exercise of cognitive functions but also that the initial progress facilitates the exercise of cognitive functions but also that the initial progress made by children is not related to language but to brain maturation. Dealing with the question of right hemisphere performance in patients with a brain split by callosotomy demonstrates, better than anything else, that each position taken on this question is underlain by philosophical presuppositions. In contradistinction with philosophies derived from that of Wittgenstein and from logical positivism and functionalist cognitivist theories, the author argues that all we know is through and within our thought, that all we say is thought and that, consequently, no scientific, philosophical, poetical or other discourse is able to apprehend or restrain thought. Thought extends far beyond language, including scientific language.

Language and thought

https://psychology.illinoisstate.edu/jccutti/psych480_24/readings/murphy1996.pdf

On metaphoric representation

http://barsaloulab.org/Online_Articles/1998-Goldstone_Barsalou-Cognition-reuniting_cognition_perception.pdf

Reuniting perception and conception.

It certainly appears that there should be a relationship between concepts and meaning, but it is not entirely clear what this relation is. We shall assume that concepts are people's psychological representations of categories (e.g., apple, chair); whereas meanings are people's understandings of words and other linguistic expressions (e.g., "apple", "large chair"). 1 Currently, many cognitive scientists, especially psychologists, believe that concepts and meanings are at least roughly equivalent, with the meaning of an expression being its conceptual representation in human knowledge. From identifying the content of a concept, the meaning of the associated expression follows. Malt (1991) and Murphy (1991) review this position and various alternatives. In our paper, we shall argue that concepts and meanings differ substantially. Although they are related in important ways, the relationship is one of complementarity, not equivalence. To reach our conclusion, we shall review standard assumptions about concepts and meaning, challenge these assumptions, and present alternatives. The assumptions that we challenge, and that organize the paper, are: (1) propositional expressions represent concepts; (2) concepts are prototypes of exemplars; (3) concepts are decontextualized and universal in scope; (4) the meanings of words are concepts. We shall argue instead that perceptual symbols represent concepts; concepts are models for types of individuals in world models; concepts are contextualized and local in scope to situations; word meanings use concepts but are not concepts. Our tack in exploring these issues is to develop a theory of concepts and memory in the first three sections of the paper. In the spirit of cognitive linguistics, this theory utilizes perceptual representations and situational knowledge extensively. The final section compares concepts, as defined in our theory, with relatively well-accepted notions about meaning. We shall then assess whether concepts are equivalent to meaning, or whether they exhibit some other relationship. Please note that the bulk of this 'working paper' represents a theory of concepts and memory in the early stages of development. We are the first to acknowledge that the majority of our claims lack strong empirical support and that increased precision is necessary at the theoretical level. Although evidence exists for some aspects of our theory, many aspects rest on more of a rationalist analysis of how a cognitive system might compute concepts and meaning. This paper outlines our theory in its current form so that we can begin to examine its claims empirically and implement it computationally. A variety of experimental …

Concepts and meaning

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Concepts and meaning