While the symbol grounding problem of agreeing on a mapping between symbols and sensory or even sensorimotor grounded concepts has been solved to a large extent, one possibly even deeper open problem remains: How do concepts and compositional concept structures develop in the first place? Concepts may be described as integrative mental representations that encode certain sensory, motor, or sensorimotor states or events. Compositionality, on the other hand, determines how concepts are associated with each other in a semantically meaningful and highly flexible manner. We argue that progressively complex concepts and compositional structures can be developed starting from very basic perceptual and motor control mechanisms. An experiment with a simple simulated robot gives hints about highly relevant structural ontogenetic prerequisites for their development. In the outlook, we conclude by sketching out the current most pressing challenges ahead.
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- Michiel van Elk: Preface
- Liane Ströbel: What’s so fascinating about Sensory-Motor Concepts?
- Liane Ströbel: Sensory-Motor Concepts and Language
- Liane Ströbel: The Diversity of Sensory-Motor Concepts and its Implications
- Liane Ströbel: Sensory-Motor Concepts and Perception
- Raymond W. Gibbs: Experimental and Corpus Studies on Embodied Metaphoric Meaning
- Valentina Cuccio: Inferential Communication in the Embodied Language Paradigm
- Johann-Mattis List, Anselm Terhalle and Daniel Schulzek: Traces of Embodiment in Chinese Character Formation A Frame Approach to the Interaction of Writing, Speaking, and Meaning
- Wolfgang G. Müller: Motion and Emotion. The application of sensory-motor concepts to the representation of emotion in literature
- Gerard Steen: Sensory-Motor Concepts and Metaphor in Usage
- Ralf Naumann: Dynamics in the Brain and Dynamic Frame Theory for Action Verbs
- Sander Lestrade: The place of Place (according to spatial case)
- Andrea Bellavia: Force Change Schemas and Excessive Actions: How High-Level Cognitive Operations Constrain Aspect in Idiomatic Constructions
- Lionel Brunel, Denis Brouillet, Rémy Versace: The Sensory Nature of Knowledge
- Martin V.Bütz and Daniel Zöllner: Towards Grounding Compositional Concept Structures in Self-organizing Neural Encodings
- Alex Tillas: Grounding Cognition: The Role of Language in Thinking
- Olaf Hauk: Postface