The controversial status of affect in the interplay between the body and the mind Comment on “The affective grounds of the mind. The affective pertinentization (APER) model” by S. Salvatore, A. Palmieri, R. De Luca Picione, V. Bochicchio, M. Reho, M. R. Serio, & G. Salvatore

In their remarkable article, Salvatore and colleagues present a grand theory of affect and meaning making. The intellectual effort invested is considerable, given the breadth of the authors’ proposed framework, which spans from psychoanalysis to semiotic-cultural psychology. The APER model seeks to elucidate the bodily bases of meaning-making processes, aiming to bridge the divide between neurophysiological and cultural processes. While the APER model seeks to integrate multiple dimensions of the mind/body relationship, it leaves significant conceptual work to be done in clarifying the boundaries between body and mind, thus reflecting the enduring divide between the natural and human sciences.