| Studying “Kim,” an individual with a radically limited sensory palate, researchers formalized a new method of understanding the link between linguistic encoding of sensory perception and actual perception. |
This project adopted a field linguistic approach to interrogate the subjectivity of human experience in the absence of a typical sensory palate. The research, drawing on insights from neurobiology and linguistics, centered on a remarkable individual, Kim, whose sensory world is radically different from that of the typical human. Kim relies on vision and hearing and lacks somatosensation (touch, pain, temperature, proprioception). Kim has minimal taste and smell perception. The project’s aim was to learn “the language of Kim.” This required the formalization of a new methodological approach to understand the interaction between linguistic encoding of sensory perception and actual perception. The new approach has broad applicability, as the method can be extended to understand those of different backgrounds, physical conditions, and even species.
John Matthews Manly Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Linguistics and Humanities Collegiate Division
University of Chicago
Lenore Grenoble specializes in the study of language contact and shift in Indigenous settings, with particular attention to the Arctic. Her work is empirically driven, and her current interests focus on language usage in multilingual settings, with particular attention to Arctic Indigenous...
Professor of Neurobiology
University of Chicago
After a 25-year focus on the cellular mechanisms of pain modulation (how does morphine work? and related questions), Peggy Mason's laboratory is now focused on the biological basis of empathy and helping. Important questions include:
Do rats help another in distress? Yes.
Who do...
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Research made possible through this project shows that direct sensory experience is not required to understand language and abstract metaphors referencing that sensation.
Humans cannot know the internal experience of others, but our common vocabulary effectively allows for communication about internal states and external circumstances. We can even imagine the inner...
Carousel with 3 slides shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate, or the slide dot buttons at the end to jump to slides.
Research made possible through this project shows that direct sensory experience is not required to understand language and abstract metaphors referencing that sensation.
Carousel with 3 slides shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate, or the slide dot buttons at the end to jump to slides.
Humans cannot know the internal experience of others, but our common vocabulary effectively allows for communication about internal states and external circumstances. We can even imagine the inner...
