72528 - Semiotics of Perception and of the Body (1) (LM)

Course contents

Semiotics of perception and the body investigates the semiotic function within the processes through which the body perceives, knows, and situates itself in the world. Body, brain, and environment are not passive supports of semiosis but dynamic dimensions that both shape and are shaped by meaning.

This year’s course offers a guided journey from classical semiotic theories of perception to more recent developments on corporeality and experience.

The course is structured in three main sections:

1. Theoretical Foundations of Semiotics of Perception This first part introduces key semiotic theories of perception and embodiment, beginning with the work of Peirce and Eco and continuing through the dialogue with phenomenology. Special attention will be given to the construction of a semiophilosophy of the body and to the ways in which semiotic traditions have framed perceptual processes, embodied experience, and intersubjective practices.

2. Dialogue with Contemporary Cognitive Science This section explores intersections between semiotics and contemporary cognitive science. Starting from a critique of classical cognitivism, it addresses extended mind theory, distributed cognition, enactivism, and predictive processing. Emphasis is placed on the roles of the body, environment, and tools in cognition. The aim is to develop a relational and sign-based model of mind, integrating biosemiotic processes and ontogenetic development.

3. Applications and Case Studies The third part applies the semiotic and cognitive frameworks to embodied experience. Topics include: mirror self-recognition, narrative construction of the self, perception of self and other, sensory deprivation, perceptual illusions, delusions, dreams, and altered states of consciousness. These phenomena serve as privileged sites where the tensions between lived corporeality, processes of meaning, and the formation of subjectivity emerge, showing how the mind inhabits a body shaped by signs and practices.

The final objective is to show the impossibility of thinking a semiotics of experience without acknowledging the chiasmatic and enactive interweaving of human biosemiotics and the signs that inhabit and structure its environment.

Readings/Bibliography

All students are required to read the following:

• Eco, U. (1997) Kant e l’ornitorinco, Bompiani, Milano. [capp. 2 e 6].
• Eco, U. (2007) “La soglia e l’infinito”, in Dall’albero al labirinto, Bompiani, Milano, pp. 463–484.
• Paolucci, C. (2010) Strutturalismo e interpretazione, Bompiani, Milano. [capp. 2 e 4].
• Lobaccaro, L. (2022) “La semiotica cognitiva in Italia. Genesi, diramazioni, evoluzioni”, in Marrone, G. e Migliore T. (eds.) Cura del senso e critica sociale. Ricognizione della semiotica italiana, Mimesis, Roma, pp. 61–94.
  

One additional essay from the following list:

• Basso Fossali, P. (2008) “Sogno”, in Vissuti di significazione, ETS, Pisa.
• Lobaccaro, L. (2024) “Atti d’enunciazione e pratiche incarnate: una prospettiva semiotico-cognitiva”, in Rivista Italiana di Filosofia del Linguaggio, Special Issue SFL – Rules, praxis and forms of life. Starting with Wittgenstein’s ‘Philosophical Investigations’ seventy years later, pp. 23–37.
• Lobaccaro, L. (2025) “Biosemiotica, semiotica cognitiva e sense-making: un approccio relazionale e pragmatista contro l’antropomorfismo”, in Dentico, M. (a cura di), Semiotica, vita, ecologia e sostenibilità. Critici biosemiotici, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, pp. 37–67.
• Lobaccaro, L. (2025) “Cervelli nella vasca, menti fluttuanti e il silenzio dei sensi: semiotica dell’esperienza e deprivazione sensoriale”, in Lorusso, A. M., Mazzucchelli, F., Giacomazzi, M., & Grinello, M. (a cura di), Le forme del silenzio, Mimesis, Milano.
• Lobaccaro, L. & Bacaro, M. (2021) “What is in the mirror? On mirror self-recognition, semiotics and material engagement”, in Reti, Saperi, Linguaggi, 8, pp. 103–124.
• Paolucci, C. (2011) “The ‘External Mind’: Semiotics, Pragmatism, Extended Mind and Distributed Cognition”, in VS, 112–113, pp. 69–96.
• Violi, P. (2012) “Nuove forme di narratività”, in Lorusso, A., Paolucci, C. & Violi, P. (a cura di), Narratività. Problemi, analisi, prospettive, BUP, Bologna, pp. 105–132.
  

One monograph chosen from the following list:

• Peirce, C. S. (1980), Semiotica, Einaudi, Torino
• Merleau‑Ponty, M. (1945/2003), Fenomenologia della percezione, Bompiani, Milano, Parte I (Fino a Il Mondo Percepito).
• Violi, P. (1997), Significato ed esperienza, Bompiani, Milano
• Fontanille, J. (2004), Figure del corpo. Per una semiotica dell’impronta, Meltemi, Roma
• Coquet, J. C. (2008), Le istanze enuncianti. Fenomenologia e semiotica, Bruno Mondadori, Milano
• Basso Fossali, P. (2009), La tenuta del senso. Per una semiotica della percezione, Aracne, Roma (pp. 1–229)
• Paolucci, C. (2021), Cognitive Semiotics. Integrating Signs, Minds, Meaning and Cognition, Springer, Cham
• Lobaccaro, L. (2024), Ai confini del senso. La schizofrenia tra semiotica, psicopatologia e scienze cognitive, Quodlibet, Macerata.
  
• Marraffa, M. & Paternoster, A. (2012), Persone, menti, cervelli. Storia, metodi e modelli delle scienze della mente, Mondadori Università, Milano
  
• Varela, F., Thompson, E. & Rosch, E. (1991/2024), La mente nel corpo: scienze cognitive ed esperienza incarnata. Astrolabio Ubaldini, Roma.
• Gallagher, S. & Zahavi, D. (2008/2009), La mente fenomenologica, Raffaello Cortina, Milano.
• Thompson, E. (2017/2025) Veglia, sogno, essere, Astrolabio‑Ubaldini, Roma.
• Gallagher, S. (2005) How the Body Shapes the Mind, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• O’Regan, J. K. (2012), Perché i colori non suonano. Una nuova teoria della coscienza, Raffaello Cortina, Milano
• Cometa, M. (2017), Perché le storie ci aiutano a vivere. La letteratura necessaria, Raffaello Cortina, Milano
  
• Di Paolo, E., Cuffari, E. & De Jaegher, H. (2018/2026), Corpi linguistici. La continuità tra vita e linguaggio. Astrolabio Ubaldini, Roma.
• Noë, A. (2016/2022), Strani strumenti: l'arte e la natura umana, Einaudi, Torino.

 

Teaching methods

Lectures and in-class textual commentary.

Assessment methods

Oral examination based on the assigned readings. Students are assessed on their critical interpretation and ability to relate the texts.

Attendance is not mandatory (but highly reccomended) and it does not affect the evaluation.

All students must register for the exam through the AlmaEsami platform.


Exam sessions:

The oral exams awill be scheduled during the exam appeals, that will take place in the following months during a.y. 2025/2026: January, March, June, September, December.

Evaluation criteria

Grades will be assigned according to the following scale:

• 30 cum laude: Excellent performance; in-depth knowledge and analytical competence; outstanding clarity, originality, and critical insight.

• 30: Very good; full and adequate knowledge, well-structured and correctly expressed, with relevant critical engagement.

• 29–27: Good; more than satisfactory knowledge and analytical skills, clear and correct expression.

• 26–24: Fair; essential knowledge and skills are present but not fully developed or articulated.

• 23–21: Sufficient; general but superficial understanding, expression often unclear or confused.

• 20–18: Barely sufficient; significant gaps in expression and conceptual articulation.

• <18: Not sufficient; lack of basic knowledge, incorrect or absent analytical reasoning, poor understanding of core concepts, serious issues in expression.
  

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders have the right to special adjustments according to their condition, following an assessment by the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the instructor but get in touch with the Service directly to schedule an appointment. It will be the responsibility of the Service to determine the appropriate adjustments. For more information, visit the page: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students .

It is recommended that students contact the University office in advance. Any proposed adjustments must be submitted at least 15 days in advance for the instructor’s approval, who will evaluate their appropriateness in relation to the learning objectives of the course.

Teaching tools

Handout, Powerpoint

Office hours

See the website of Luigi Lobaccaro