How does pragmatics fit with the brain?

It is widely acknowledged that the pragmatic field of research is not homogeneous. In its broad sense, it covers a range of loosely related research programmes from formal studies of deictic expressions to sociological studies of ethnic verbal stereotypes. The diversity of approaches certainly mirrors the complexity of the field. However, when we come to investigate the connections of pragmatic research to research on the brain, not all the directions turn out to be equally capable of immediately translating into questions for which sensible answers can be sought. Indeed, if one of the most important steps in scientific research is formulating the “right” questions in order to get “relevant” answers, then some decisions have to be made as to the questions we would like to ask in order to gather data that has scientific relevance.In this paper I give for granted that the data gathered within cognitive approaches to pragmatics are most relevant to neuropragmatics, and further explore the possibility that a complex systems theory lens may help us look at them in new ways. Complex adaptive systems provide inspiring suggestions as to how we might capture this dimension of analysis of pragmatic facts, which appear to observation as complex dynamic units whose profile is shaped in ever-changing manners by the interplay of the numerous variables at stake in interaction while at the same time preserving integrity and recognizability as unique and unrepeatable pieces of communicative behaviour.