The course aims to provide students with the conceptual tools characterizing the study of language in a cognitive perspective. In particular, the course aims at providing knowledge about the processes underlying a specific aspect of language: the ability to tell stories.
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
- reconstruct the contemporary debate on the nature of language in the framework of cognitive science.
- know the basic concepts and empirical investigations carried out in the context of the cognitive sciences of language.
- read and understand experimental scientific articles dealing with issues relating to the cognitive foundations of language.
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
- reconstruct the contemporary debate on the nature of language in the framework of cognitive science.
- know the basic concepts and empirical investigations carried out in the context of the cognitive sciences of language.
- read and understand experimental scientific articles dealing with issues relating to the cognitive foundations of language.
teacher profile teaching materials
The course includes experimental activities aimed at supporting the theoretical model proposed.
Two books and two articles.
Books:
Scott-Phillips (2017), Dì quello che hai in mente. Le origini della comunicazione umana, Carocci, Rome.
Ferretti, F. (2022), L’istinto persuasivo, Carocci, Rome.
Two articles chosen from the following:
(Available on Moodle) Bilandzic, H., & Busselle, R. (2013). “Narrative persuasion.” In The Sage Handbook of Persuasion: Developments in Theory and Practice, 2, pp. 200–219.
(Available on Moodle) Ferretti, F. (2025). “Stories come first. The origins of human communication from a naturalised perspective of language.” Rivista Internazionale di Filosofia e Psicologia, 16(1), 1–16.
(Available on Moodle) Ferretti, F., Delliponti, A. D., Deriu, V., Chiera, A., Altavilla, D., Nicchiarelli, S., ... & Adornetti, I. (2026). “Which mindreading for ostensive communication? An event-related potentials study of how the brain processes communicative and informative intentions.” Journal of Pragmatics, 262, 81–101.
(Available on Moodle) Ferretti, F. (2024). “Agonistic conversation: A cognitive-interactive perspective on the origin of grammar.” In Introducing Evolutionary Pragmatics (pp. 124–149). Routledge.
Mutuazione: 20710271 SCIENZE COGNITIVE DEL LINGUAGGIO - LM in Scienze Cognitive della Comunicazione e dell'Azione LM-92 R FERRETTI FRANCESCO
Programme
The course focuses on the relationship between language and narrative from a cognitive and evolutionary point of view. In contrast to the theories considering the sentence as the essence of language, the course suggests an interpretative hypothesis based on the priority of discourse over sentence; specifically, it is suggested that the ability to tell stories is the distinctive trait both of language and human nature.The course includes experimental activities aimed at supporting the theoretical model proposed.
Core Documentation
12 ECTS SyllabusTwo books and two articles.
Books:
Scott-Phillips (2017), Dì quello che hai in mente. Le origini della comunicazione umana, Carocci, Rome.
Ferretti, F. (2022), L’istinto persuasivo, Carocci, Rome.
Two articles chosen from the following:
(Available on Moodle) Bilandzic, H., & Busselle, R. (2013). “Narrative persuasion.” In The Sage Handbook of Persuasion: Developments in Theory and Practice, 2, pp. 200–219.
(Available on Moodle) Ferretti, F. (2025). “Stories come first. The origins of human communication from a naturalised perspective of language.” Rivista Internazionale di Filosofia e Psicologia, 16(1), 1–16.
(Available on Moodle) Ferretti, F., Delliponti, A. D., Deriu, V., Chiera, A., Altavilla, D., Nicchiarelli, S., ... & Adornetti, I. (2026). “Which mindreading for ostensive communication? An event-related potentials study of how the brain processes communicative and informative intentions.” Journal of Pragmatics, 262, 81–101.
(Available on Moodle) Ferretti, F. (2024). “Agonistic conversation: A cognitive-interactive perspective on the origin of grammar.” In Introducing Evolutionary Pragmatics (pp. 124–149). Routledge.
Attendance
.Type of evaluation
The exam (the same for all students, whether attending classes or not) consists of a paper to be submitted 15 days before the exam date and discussed orally on the day of the exam. Details and the available topics will be announced in class once the course has begun and posted on the course’s Moodle page, which students are encouraged to enrol in.