Prof. Yair Neuman
Born: 1968, Israel
Academic Qualifications:
    Ph.D. , 1999, Hebrew University , Cognition
Academic Positions:
Department of Education - Head
Research Interests:
Semiotics (Bio-semiotics, theoretical semiotics, social semiotics, mathematical semiotics); Psychoanalytic theory; Theoretical Biology, Pragmatics of Language (Specifically Bakhtinian Linguistic Analysis); Psychology of Argumentation/Informal Reasoning; Cognitive Science; Intelligent Systems; Interdisciplinary Research
Research Projects:
1. Psychoanalysis and Semiotics.
2. Automatic Identification of Meaning in Texts
3. Category Theory as a language for modeling cognitive processes.
Abstracts of Current Research:
  • A novel generic conception of structure: In his seminal monograph Structuralism, the psychologist Jean Piaget attempted to formulate the general meaning of 'structure' in algebraic terms, using the concept of the mathematical group. Piaget was aware of the difficulty of applying this notion to irreversible systems that evolve over time and maintain their time-dependent structure (i.e. pattern) through feedback loops. In this theoretical paper, and based on categorical formalism, I propose a novel generic conception of pattern that addresses the above difficulty.
  • "Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand": On revenge, chaos and reverie. : Following Kohut, the psychoanalytic literature has usually discussed revenge in terms of narcissistic rage evoked in response to narcissistic injury. In this paper, following Bion, I present an alternative reading of revenge as being characterized by two complementary trajectories: (1) injecting internal disorder into external disorder, and (2) injecting external order into internal disorder. This interpretation is illustrated through von Kleist’s Michael Kohlhaas and Moore and Lloyd’s V for Vendetta.
  • Automatic Identification of Meaning in Texts: Representing meaning is a major challenge facing Web 3.0. However, it is extremely difficult to excavate the meaning of a target concept from textual data as there is no one-to-one correspondence between the textual unit in which the target concept is embedded and the conceptual content that we would like to excavate. In this project, we propose one possible approach for addressing this challenge by harvesting the Web for cocneptual mapping relations in which the target concept is an argument. We present several preliminary results of "Pedesis" - a novel automated system for excavating the meaning of target concept -, and conclude by discussing potential applications of this methodology for a variety of semantic computing tasks.
Publications:
  • Neuman, Y.. Empathy: From Mind Reading to the Reading of a Distant Text Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science : (2010)
  • Neuman, Y.. Psychosomatic symptoms as biomarkers: Transcending the psyche-soma dichotomy Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic : (2010)
  • Neuman, Y.. Penultimate Interpatation International Journal of Psychoanalysis : (2010)
  • Neuman, Y. Nave, O. & Dolev, E., . Buzzwords on their way to a tipping point: A view from the Blogosphere. Complexity : (2010)
  • Neuman, Y., . On the Alpha-function, chaotic cats, and unconscious memory New Ideas in Psychology 3: 305-311 (2009)
  • Neuman, Y.. Double binds, triadic binds Semiotica 174: 227-240 (2009)
  • Neuman Y. Peter Pan''s shadow and the relational matrix of the "I". Semiotica 176: 15-27 (2009)
  • Neuman, Y., & Nave, O.. Metaphor-based meaning excavation Information Sciences 179: 2719-2728 (2009)
  • Neuman, Y., & Nave, O. . Why the brain needs language in order to be self-conscious New Ideas in Psychology doi:10.1016/j.newideapsych.2009.05.001 : (2009)
  • Neuman Y. On love, hate and knowledge The International Journal of Psyhcoanalysis 90: 697-712 (2009)
  • Neuman, Y., & Tamir, B.. On meaning, self-consciousness and quantum physics Journal of Cosmology : (2009)
  • Neuman, Y.. The polysemy of the sign: From quantum computing to the garden of the forking paths Semiotica 169: 155-169 (2008)
  • Neuman, Y., & Nave. O. . On the semio-mathematical nature of codes Biosemiotics 1: 99-113 (2008)
  • Neuman, Y., & Nave, O. . A mathematical theory of sign mediated concept formation Applied. Mathematics & Computation 201: 72-81 (2008)
  • Neuman, Y. . Immune memory, immune oblivion: A lesson from Funes the memorious Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology 92: 258-267 (2007)
  • Neuman, Y. et al. . Strategic Intelligence Analysis: From Information Processing to Meaning Making Lecture Notes in Computer Science 3975: 473-478. (2006)
  • Neuman, Y . . The logic of meaning-in-context. The American Journal of Semiotics 19: 211-222 (2006)
  • Weinstock, M., Neuman, Y., and Glassner, A. . Developmental factors in the ability to identify informal reasoning fallacies Journal of Educational Psychology 98: 327-341 (2006)
  • Neuman, Y., & Orion, Y. . Dimensionality constrains on the construction of 3-D organisms Foundations of Science 12: 1-7 (2006)
  • Neuman, Y.. Cryptobiosis: A new theoretical perspective Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology 92: 258-267 (2006)
  • Neuman, Y. . A note on life as meaning making machinery Semiotica 158: 357-365 (2006)
  • Neuman, Y., Weinstock, M., . The effect of contextual factors on the judgment of informal reasoning fallacies The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 59: 411-426 (2006)
  • Neuman, Y. . Why do we need signs in biology? Rivisita di Biologia / Biology Forum 98: 497-513 (2006)
  • Neuman, Y., Nadav, M., & Bessor, Y. . The pragmatics of bereavement Journal of Pragmatics 38: 1369-1384 (2006)
  • Neuman, Y. . A theory of meaning Information Sciences 176: 1435-1449 (2006)
  • Glassner, A., Weinstock, M., & Neuman, Y. . Pupils'' evaluation and generation of evidence and explanation in argumentation The British Journal of Educational Psychology 75 : 105-118 (2005)
  • Neuman, Y. . Meaning making in language and biology Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 48: 320-327 (2005)
  • Neuman, Y. . The immune self, the sign and the testes S.E.E.D (Semiotics, Evolution, Energy, Development) Journal 5: 85-109 (2005)
  • Neuman, Y. . What does pain signify? A hypothesis concerning pain, the immune system and unconscious pain experience under general anesthesia Medical Hypotheses 63: 1051-1053 (2004)
  • Neuman, Y. . Meaning making in the immune system Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 47: 317-328 (2004)
  • Neuman, Y. . Mirrors mirrored: Is that all there is? S.E.E.D (Semiotics, Evolution, Energy, Development) Journal 4: 58-69 (2004)
  • Liebersohn, Y., Neuman, Y., & Bekerman, Z. . Oh baby, it''s hard for me to say I''m sorry: Public apologetic speech and cultural rhetorical resources Journal of Pragmatics 36: 921-944 (2004)
  • Neuman, Y., Glassner, A., & Weinstock, M. 116, 173-.. The effect of a reason''s truth-value on the judgment of a fallacious argument Acta Psychologica 116: 173-184 (2004)
  • Weinstock, M., Neuman, Y., & Tabak, I. . Missing the point or missing the norm: Epistemological norms as predictors of students'' ability to identify fallacious arguments Contemporary Educational Psychology 29: 77-94 (2004)
  • Neuman, Y. . Meaning making in the immune system Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 47: 317-328 (2004)
  • Neuman, Y., & Weitzman, E . The role of text representation in students'' ability to identify fallacious arguments The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 56: 849-865 (2003)
  • Neuman, Y. & Weitzman, E. . The role of text representation in students' ability to identify fallacious arguments. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, Section A: Human Experimental Psychology. 56A: 849-865 (2003)
  • Neuman, Y., & Levi, M . Blood and chocolate: A rhetorical approach to fear appeal Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29: 29-46 (2003)
  • Neuman, Y., & Tabak, I. . Inconsistency as an interactional problem: A lesson from political rhetoric Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 32: 251-267 (2003)
  • Neuman, Y., & Ben-Asher, S. . Individual and collective consciousness in testimonies of navy divers Social Semiotics 13: 321-341 (2003)
  • Neuman, Y. . Mobius and paradox: On the abstract structure of boundary events in semiotic systems Semiotica 147: 135-148 (2003)
  • Neuman, Y. . Turtles all the way down: Outlines for a dynamic theory of epistemology Systems Research and Behavioral Sciences 20: 521-530 (2003)
  • Neuman, Y. . How deep is the surface? A framework for understanding meaning-making in living systems Foundations of Science 8: 393-415 (2003)
  • Neuman, Y. . Go ahead prove that God does not exist! On student''s ability to deal with fallacious arguments Learning and Instruction 13: 367-380 (2003)
  • Neuman, Y. . Co-generic logic as a theoretical framework for the analysis of communication in living systems Semiotica 144: 49-65 (2003)
  • Neuman, Y., Bekerman, Z., & Kaplan, A. . Rhetoric as the contextual manipulation of self and non-self Research on Language and Social Interaction 35: 93-112 (2002)
  • Schwarz, B, Neuman, Y, Gil, Y,. & Ilya, M. . Construction of collective and individual knowledge in argumentative activities: An experimental study Journal of the Learning Sciences 12: 219-256 (2002)
  • Neuman, Y. . A co-generic perspective on problems involving a shift between systems'' different levels of analysis International Journal of General Systems 31: 111-118 (2002)
Books:
  • Neuman, Y., Reviving the Living: Meaning Making in Living Systems, Elsevier, 2008
  • Neuman, Y., Processes and Boundaries of the Mind: Extending the Limit Line, Springer, 2003
Keywords:
Phones:
  1. Phone: 972-8-6461844
  2. Fax: 972-8-6472897
  3. Mobile: 29635
  4. Home: 972-8-6519982
Email:yneuman@bgu.ac.il