Abstract Concepts, Perception, and Language: What we think and how we say it

This event, organised by members of the Semantics, Pragmatics, and Philosophy (SPP) research group of the University of Cambridge, aims to bring together those interested in abstract concepts across disciplinary boundaries.

Concepts are the lens through which humans experience and interact with the world, and as
such, understanding concepts has a broad implication for understanding reality. However, the
ways in which concepts are analysed are still primarily limited to Rosch’s categorisation approach
from the 1970s. This workshop aims to encourage and explore innovative ways, both theoretical
and experimental, of analysing and understanding the meaning of abstract concepts. This means
focussing on issues concerning abstract concepts, such as their meaning, their processing and
perception, and new approaches to analysing and defining them. More specifically, we encourage a focus on the following research questions: To what extent are categorisation approaches sufficient for concept analysis? How should the meaning of a concept be approached and what should be included in it? What are the limitations of subjective concepts in processing and representing an objective world?

The workshop aims to be an environment in which PhD students and other graduate researchers
may present their work and get feedback from their peers, as well as those who may not traditionally fall within their discipline’s boundaries. The event will also include talks from two academics: Dr Sean Enda Power (University of Cork), and Dr Derek Ball (University of St Andrews).