Abstract

This chapter deals with the concept of embodied cognition (EC) in relation to social cognition; EC states that the physical body holds a bigger role in the interpretation of cognitive activities. The chapter aims to create an empirically productive definition of EC that can be used in understanding social cognition. It begins by presenting four notions of embodiment with two of these, bodily content and bodily format, having a significant causal role in cognition. It then discusses embodied social cognition (ESC) by establishing which kinds of social-cognitive activities meet the standards for embodiment, including language understanding, mindreading, empathy, emotional cognition, joint action, and behavior imitation.