Abstract

The primary objective of this investigative study is to emphasize, through an examination of philosophical and scientific research, the significance of a comprehensible language of cognitive principles that is practical and useful across disciplines. The invitation to the reader is to appropriate certain critical theories and experimental facts, as found in philosophical and scientific discourse, that have endured, and that have meaning for us today. I explain cognitive principles, especially space, motion, and time, in terms of neural development, structure, and function, and compare this present day cognitive neuroscientific terminology with Greek, Medieval, and Modern philosophical terminology. I then examine this terminology as explained in the acquisition and production of language and speech research, and as it presents the problem of skepticism demonstrated in philosophical and anthropological research. The focus is on a need for reconciliation between scientific initiatives and the biases of personal philosophies, ultimately, the need for consensus regarding use of the language. ;This investigative project then examines how through a comprehensible rhetorical method, cognitive science can be incorporated into the liberal arts curriculum. The possibilities are not only to increase personal and fundamental knowledge of the psychophysical self, but also to better train students who are interested in the science and philosophy of cognition as it relates to their career goals. To emphasize further the need for a comprehensible rhetoric of cognitive principles, I then examine some research concerning a particular clinical diagnosis and discuss the implications of this research. This project concludes with an ethical perspective: the personal responsibility of researchers, educators, therapists, physicians, or anyone who may have or who maintains an influence on young, developing minds, or persons with mental impairment