19.Mental spaces of g. Fauconnier

The Mental space is a theoretic construct proposed by Gilles Fauconnier and Armen Khederlarian corresponding to possible worlds in Philosophy. The main difference between a mental space and a possible world is that a mental space does not contain a faithful representation of reality, but an idealized cognitive model.

It is one of the basic components in Gilles Fauconnier and Mark Turner's blending theory, a theory within Cognitive semantics. The concept of mental space has been applied to the treatment of disabled workers. Workers who are emotionally impaired have been treated by a reconstruction of their mental space. Cognitive overload can be diminished by increasing receptive and integrative capacity. This can be accomplished by splitting the space into abstract and concrete modalities. The concrete is then treated as raw material to be molded to fit the aspirations towards attainment of the abstract modality.

The Mental space is a theoretic construct proposed by Gilles Fauconnier and Armen Khederlarian corresponding to possible worlds in Philosophy. The main difference between a mental space and a possible world is that a mental space does not contain a faithful representation of reality, but an idealized cognitive model.

It is one of the basic components in Gilles Fauconnier and Mark Turner's blending theory, a theory within Cognitive semantics. The concept of mental space has been applied to the treatment of disabled workers. Workers who are emotionally impaired have been treated by a reconstruction of their mental space. Cognitive overload can be diminished by increasing receptive and integrative capacity. This can be accomplished by splitting the space into abstract and concrete modalities. The concrete is then treated as raw material to be molded to fit the aspirations towards attainment of the abstract modality.

20.Cognitive blending as a way to study meaning

Conceptual Blending is a general theory of cognition. According to this theory, elements and vital relations from diverse scenarios are "blended" in a process known as Conceptual Blending, which is assumed to be ubiquitous to everyday thought and language. Insights obtained from these blends constitute the products of creative thinking, though conceptual blending theory is not itself a theory of creativity, inasmuch as it does not illuminate the issue of where the inputs to a blend actually come from. Blending theory does provide a rich terminology for describing the creative products of others, but has little to say on the inspiration that serves as the starting point for each blend.

Fauconnier and Turner claim that “conceptual framing has been shown to arise very early in the infant and to operate in every social and conceptual domain.” Conceptual integration theory, proposed by Fauconnier and Turner and further developed by Coulson and Oakley, gives insight into our way of thinking, creating and uderstanding the world around us. This theory deals with both linguistic and non-linguistic blends. According to Coulson and Oakley, blending theory is applicable not only to many levels of analysis, but it also presents a way of establishing connection between our understanding of language and the way we comprehend human thought and activity in general. Conceptual blending is a basic mental operation, which is essential for the simplest kinds of thought and conceptual integration is an unconscious activity embedded in every aspect of human life (Fauconnier and Turner). Blending developed from the mental space theory proposed by Fauconnier. It was initially designed to deal with the question of indirect reference and referential obscurity, but it has been proven that this theory can also tackle different kinds of semantic and pragmatic phenomena.