Finnegans Wake & embodied cognition. A joycean reading

Abstract

This contribution proposes an interpretation of the language theory in Finnegans Wake, identifying its potential matches with the embodied cognition thesis. First, are revised critical texts about the relations between joycean writings, the sciences of the mind and the evolution of technology and informatics. Then, through the close analysis of four excerpt, are outlined the traits of joycean poetics closer to the recent acquisitions in the cognitive sciences. In particular: the bodily roots of the formation of language and the inexhaustible process of interpretation. The first convergence is detected in neurosciences, with reference to the recent proposals of Vittorio Gallese, about “embodiment of language comprehension.” The second convergence is identified in the studies on Artificial Life, referring to the writings of Christopher Langton and the Research Group of Los Alamos.