Cognitive Semantics: A Cultural-Historical Perspective, written by Vladimir Glebkin

Cognitive Semantics: A Cultural-Historical Perspective is a sophisticated exploration of how cognitive semantics intertwines with cultural and historical factors.By building on the intellectual frameworks of Lev Vygotsky and Alexander Luria, Glebkin offers an in-depth view of how language and cognition develop in historical contexts, emphasising the significant role played by sociocultural conditions in shaping human cognitive processes.The book situates itself within the theoretical realm of cognitive linguistics while introducing a cultural-historical lens that is both innovative and necessary.The monograph is divided into three major sections, each exploring different facets of cognitive semantics and its relation to cultural evolution.The first section introduces the Four-Level Theory of Cognitive Development (fltcd), a theoretical model developed at the intersection of cultural anthropology and cognitive psychology.Glebkin posits that "fltcd distinguishes four basic cognitive levels in phylogeny" (p.2).Level A represents cognitive capacities in higher primates, while Level B through Level D reflect progressively more abstract and theoretical thinking, culminating in the complex cognitive operations seen in modern industrial cultures.This structure allows Glebkin to investigate how language evolves in response to shifts in cognitive capabilities throughout human history.Chapter 2 researches deeper into the applications of fltcd to cognitive semantics, particularly through an analysis of conceptual metonymy and metaphor.Here, Glebkin argues that metonymy is fundamentally linked to "complex thinking" (p.23), a cognitive process prevalent in pre-theoretical cultures.According to Glebkin, "Conceptual metonymy is likely to be rooted in 'situational' thinking and featured by the 'complex' model of categorization that subsumes cognitive operations positioned at Level B of fltcd,