Do we hear meanings? - between perception and cognition

It is often observed that experiences of utterance understanding are what surfaces in hearer's consciousness in the course of language comprehension. The nature of such experiences has been a hotly debated topic. One influential position in this debate is the semantic perceptual view, according to which meaning properties can be perceived. In this paper I present two new challenges for the view that we can become perceptually aware of meaning properties in auditory experience or, in brief, that we can hear meanings. The first challenge concerns the issue of providing a plausible model of meaning perception. The second challenge consists in accommodating the crucial role of cognition in the etiology of such experiences. Drawing on these observations, I will suggest a new account, according to which experiences of understanding have a complex, mixed nature involving both perceptual and cognitive elements.

Automated summary

This paper discusses the nature of experiences of utterance understanding and presents two challenges for the view that we can become perceptually aware of meaning properties. The first challenge is to provide a plausible model of meaning perception, while the second challenge is to accommodate the crucial role of cognition in the etiology of such experiences. Drawing on these observations, the author suggests a new account, according to which experiences of understanding involve both perceptual and cognitive elements.