Gazes, Words and Silences in Pragmatics

This work examines the significance attributed to gaze as a primary mode of communication in Western culture, frequently regarded as the "mirror of the soul." Challenging this traditional perspective, the author adopts a comparative approach rooted in animal behavior ethology. The analysis begins with the distinctive aspects of the human gaze, including the gradual development of visual attention, the uniqueness of emotional tears, and the pivotal role of shared attention in fostering cognitive processes tied to social cognition. The scope is then broadened to consider the phylogenetic evolution of the supralaryngeal vocal tract and language development in individuals with autism or blindness, critiquing the limitations of an oculocentric lens in understanding the development of social cognition. In its final section, the book employs a radically embodied perspective on human cognition, grounded in a rigorous empirical study of bodily evolution, to propose an ontological theory of humanity that situates language at the core of phylogenetic development.