Representing, photographing and studying cognitive processes: the case of second language acquisition

The mission of cognitive sciences is to understand cognitive pro- cesses. In order to do that, a first wave of studies tried to simulate thought through computers; after many failed attempts, a second wave tried to study mind through a strictly reductionist neuroscientific approach. Today, both approaches appear as dualist and incomplete due to their blindness to the role of body, human societies and ex- ternal environment. Analysing the reciprocal influences between photography-based technologies and cognitive studies, we will try to shed light on a fre- quently recurring process in the history of cognitive sciences: the cre- ation of a polarity between the ones who study cognitive functions separating them from physical substrate and those who study cogni- tive processes in a reductionistic way. In the final part, we will suggest an alternative approach to the problem, based on practical principles. While doing that, we will discuss some of the most recent studies on second language acquisition