Since the 1980s the study of the brain has developed from a primarily biological field to a significant interdisciplinary area with an already strong influence on the humanities and social sciences. In this article I describe fundamental elements in what I call the embodied mind paradigm and the new understanding of the relation between mind, body and emotions. The new paradigm challenges certain notions of constructivism in the humanities and social sciences, but also opens up very fruitful venues for new interdisciplinary research. The article deals with such possibilities in linguistics, philosophy, sociology and film studies.This article is published as part of an ongoing collection dedicated to interdisciplinary research