Lisa Feldman Barrett
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
They have no inherent psychological meaning.
They have no inherent emotional meaning.
They have no inherent mental meaning.
What gives them meaning is
are your memories from the past.
You are creating, you are a meaning maker.
Meaning isn't a set of features like a dictionary definition.
So the meaning of this cup isn't that it's made of metal.
I mean, we certainly can talk about those features, but the meaning of this cup in this moment is what I do with it.
So it could be a vessel for drinking.
It could be a weapon.
It could be a flower holder.
It could be a measuring cup.
The meaning of the vessel is what I do with it in the moment.
That's its meaning.
And so the meaning of the vessel isn't in the vessel.
And it's also not only in my head.
The meaning is the transaction.
It's the relationship between the features of this vessel, this object, and the signals in my brain, which are creating my actions.
In fact, even the fact that this is a solid object, the property of solidity