?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Multimodal+Semiotics+of+Spiritual+Experiences%3A+Representing+Beliefs%2C+Metaphors%2C+and+Actions&rft.creator=Evola%2C+Vito&rft.subject=Behavioral+Analysis&rft.subject=Logic&rft.subject=Metaphysics&rft.subject=Psycholinguistics&rft.subject=Behavioral+Analysis&rft.subject=Applied+Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Ethics&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Mind&rft.subject=Semantics&rft.subject=Social+Psychology&rft.subject=Perceptual+Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Language&rft.description=Traditionally%2C+spiritual+experiences+have+been+considered+%22ineffable%2C%22+but+metaphors+pervade+the+representations+of+certain+concepts+of+the+transcendental+in+an+attempt+to+talk+about+such+abstract+ideas.+Whether+it+be+during+the+description+of+a+vision+or+simply+talking+about+morality%2C+people+use+conceptual+metaphors+to+reason+and+talk+about+these+concepts.+Many+representations+of+God%2C+spirits%2C+or+the+afterlife+are+culturally+based%2C+but+whereas+some+may+differ+based+on+individual+experiences%2C+others+seem+to+have+a+more+universal+character.+From+a+phenomenological+point+of+view%2C+it+seems+that+the+descriptions+are+contingent+and+not+necessary%2C+that+is%2C+the+language+a+believer+is+exposed+to+may+influence%2C+but+not+condition+a+priori%2C+his+or+her+own+spiritual+experience+as+Constructivists+have+thought.+People's+views+about+themselves+and+the+world+around+them+are+deeply+rooted+in+their+conceptual+systems%2C+which+are+created+by+their+experiences+and+their+bodily+interactions+with+the+world%2C+whether+it's+having+to+do+with+gravity+in+the+case+of+UP+and+DOWN%2C+or+what+our+individual+and+social+concepts+are.+When+people+talk+about+religious+and+spiritual+concepts%2C+they+are+revealing+a+great+deal+about+their+world+and+themselves+and+the+way+they+interact+with+it.+Concepts+dealing+with+people's+system+of+beliefs+are+very+%22meaningful%22+for+the+individual%2C+and+the+more+entrenched+a+frame+of+mind+is%2C+the+less+plastic+it+is%2C+a+fact+confirmed+by+the+neurosciences%2C+which+claim+that+it+is+difficult+to+break+down+and+reconstruct+certain+synaptic+structures+of+the+brain.+How+do+today's+common+%22faithful%22+relate+to+certain+metaphors+about+spiritual+concepts+transmitted+by+their+faiths%3F+What+do+these+metaphors+say+about+the+individuals'+concepts+of+themselves+and+their+world%3F+I+will+explore+some+of+my+own+conclusions+concerning+conceptual+metaphors+and+figurative+language+collected+in+various+sacred+texts+and+during+a+series+of+interviews+of+religious+people+with+different+backgrounds+of+religious+systems.+The+data+include+linguistic+expressions+as+well+as+gesture.+Moreover%2C+the+interviewees+were+asked+to+draw+on+paper+certain+experiences+of+religious+nature+and+then+to+describe+their+pictures.+My+investigation+will+try+to+shed+new+light+on+the+phenomenology+of+religious+experiences+and+personhood%2C+using+cognitive+linguistics+as+a+prime+tool+of+analysis.&rft.date=2008-04-30&rft.type=Conference+Paper&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6112%2F1%2Fcase-colloquium.pdf&rft.identifier=++Evola%2C+Vito++(2008)+Multimodal+Semiotics+of+Spiritual+Experiences%3A+Representing+Beliefs%2C+Metaphors%2C+and+Actions.++%5BConference+Paper%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6112%2F