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Social Affordances and the Possibility of Ecological Linguistics

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Abstract

This paper includes an effort to extend the notion of affordance from a philosophical point of view the importance of ecological approach for social psychology, ethics, and linguistics. Affordances are not always merely physical but also interpersonal and social. I will conceptualize affordance in general and social affordance in particular, and will elucidate the relation between intentional action and affordances, and that between affordances and free will. I will also focus on the relation between social institution and affordance. An extended theory of affordances can provide a way to analyze in concrete ways how social institution works as an implicit background of interpersonal interactions. Ecological approach considers social institution as the producer and maintainer of affordances. Social institutions construct the niches for human beings. Finally, I will argue the possibility of the ecological linguistics. Language is a social institution. The system of signs is the way to articulate and differentiate interpersonal affordances. Language acquires its meaning, i.e. communicative power in the interpersonal interactions, and interpersonal interactions, in turn, develop and are elaborated through the usage of signs. Communication is seen as never aimed to transmit inner ideas to others, but to guide and adjust the behaviors of others thorough articulating the affordance of responsible-ness.

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Notes

  1. For the argument below about the definition of affordance, I have consulted the following papers: Chemero (2003), Heft (2007b), Reed (1988, 1996), Scarantino (2003), Stoffregen (2000), Turvey (1992). Scarantino’s definition seems to me to be most philosophically satisfying. My definition is close to Scarantino’s

  2. When I say that to perceive affordances is to “foresee” changes of the environment, this “foresee” is close to the perception of the occulting edge. Gibson maintains as follows: “At an occulting edge the present hides the past and also hides the future. During locomotion what is being concealed “goes into the past” and what is being revealed “comes from the future.” But actually of course one simply apprehends the whole environment.” (Gibson 1982, p.396)

  3. As early contributions, see for example, Baron and Bourdreau (1987), Costall (1995), McArthur & Baron (1983), Runeson and Frykholm (1983), Schmidt, Carello, and Turvey (1990), Turvey (1990). More recent studies I consulted are Baron (2007), Heft (2001, 2007a, 2007b), Hodges (2007a, 2007b). Hodges and Baron, (2007b), Hodges and Lindheim (2006), Schmidt, (2007).

  4. Baron’s papers in the early eighties lead the ecological approach to social domain (Baron 1980, 1981). For more recent studies, see for example the papers of Hodges (2007b), Hodges and Baron (2007a), Mark (2007), Reed (1996).

  5. van Lier (2004) wrote the most comprehensive work on the ecological semiotics up to now.

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Correspondence to Tetsuya Kono.

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Kono, T. Social Affordances and the Possibility of Ecological Linguistics. Integr. psych. behav. 43, 356–373 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-009-9097-8

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