The silent meaning of the cognitive-performative horizon

Abstract

The article presents the discussion which begins with a semantic clarification of the Polish terms of ‘sens’ [meaning] and ‘znaczenie’ [reference] in Polish linguistic usus, starting with the basic dictionary and corpus-based determinations, which indicate the subjective dominant element of ‘sens’ and the objective dominant element of ‘znaczenie’. Next, the author indicated the elements of philosophical discourse (J. Bocheński, J. Hartman, T. Komendziński), which defined additional conditions of meaning as “the meaning of life” and “meaning of action” and which emphasise the subjective and performative nature of meaning, particularly associated with the expressions “meaning of life”. The philosophical context of the discussion was supported by the findings of cognitive sciences which refer to the impact of the subconscious and its cognitive-performative potential introduced using the categories of the “subliminal” (L. Mlodinow) and “tacit knowledge” (M. Polanyi). The final part of the discussion was mainly devoted to the concept of the “cognitive-performative horizon”, it emphasised the dominant impact of the unrealised dimension of individual knowledge about existence and action in the world for meaning-building cognitive and performative activities.