Conceptual Blending

Making an Art of Creativity: The Cognitive Science of Duchamp and Dada

by Phillip Prager

forthcoming in Creativity Research Journal (accepted 27th Nov. 2011)

Dada is the infant terrible of art history, an anarchic movement that is typically referred to as nihilistic,... more Dada is the infant terrible of art history, an anarchic movement that is typically referred to as nihilistic, pathological, and firmly enshrined within the modernist paradigm and the context of WWI. Through the lens of classical, romantic, and psychoanalytic notions, it certainly appears almost antithetical to creativity. Yet from a cognitive point-of-view, Dada marks a watershed in the understanding of creativity, and articulates principles of creative cognition with surprising insight and precision many decades ahead of science.

Shaka, when the walls fell? What cognitive semantics can tell us about the metaphorical language in "Darmok."

by Krystian Aparta

Slides from a talk given at TrekSfera 2009, intended for an audience with little to no knowledge of linguistics

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Darmok," a humanoid alien race provides a challenge to the... more In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Darmok," a humanoid alien race provides a challenge to the Universal Translator - they only communicate in metaphors. A cognitive semantic approach is used to discuss the question of whether that language is as strange as it seems, comparing the metaphoricity of Darmok with eponimization and lexicalization. The real oddity of the language is proposed to lie in an innate Theory of Mind impairment in the alien race.

Benjamin Geer - The Priesthood of Nationalism in Egypt - PhD Thesis

by Benjamin Geer

Geer, Benjamin. 2012. ‘The Priesthood of Nationalism in Egypt: Duty, Authority, Autonomy’. PhD thesis, London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

This thesis considers the effects of nationalism on the autonomy of intellectuals in Egypt. I argue that nationalism... more This thesis considers the effects of nationalism on the autonomy of intellectuals in Egypt. I argue that nationalism limits intellectuals’ ability to challenge social hierarchies, political authority and economic inequality, and that it has been more readily used to legitimise new forms of domination in competition with old ones. I analyse similarities between religion and nationalism, using the sociological theory of Pierre Bourdieu together with cognitive linguistics. Focusing mainly on the similarities between priests and nationalist intellectuals, and secondarily between prophets and charismatic nationalist political leaders, I show that nationalism and religion are based on relatively similar concepts, which lend themselves to similar strategies for gaining credibility, recognition and moral authority. I present case studies of a few nationalist intellectuals, focusing on ones who advocated views that later became dominant. The translator and teacher Rifa‘a Rafi‘ al-Tahtawi, who was trained as a religious scholar before studying secular subjects in France, brought nationalism to Egypt by blending European nationalist concepts with centuries-old concepts from Islamic religious and literary traditions. In the early 20th century, the nationalism of intellectuals such as Muhammad Husayn Haykal enabled them to compete with men of religion for prestige and political influence, and also served particular class and professional interests. Tawfiq al-Hakim’s concept of the charismatic national leader influenced the young Gamal Abdel Nasser, who became a successful nationalist prophet and military autocrat. Ihsan ‘Abd al-Quddus articulated the concept of the nationalist martyr, who dies for his country; this concept also contributed to Nasser’s charisma. Both al-Hakim and al-Quddus arguably lost autonomy under Nasser’s regime. Al-Hakim was unable to criticise the regime until after Nasser’s death. Al-Quddus was imprisoned and tortured for advocating democracy, then became one of the most fervent supporters of Nasser’s autocracy.

Conventional Models of Time and their Extensions in Science Fiction

by Krystian Aparta

Master's Thesis, Jagiellonian University, Decomber 2006

This thesis overviews conventional conceptual models of  TIME, as described by cognitive linguistics, as well as... more This thesis overviews conventional conceptual models of  TIME, as described by cognitive linguistics, as well as the novel extensions of conventional models of TIME found in science fiction. The first chapter presents an overview of conceptual metaphor theory and a discussion of conventional metaphorical models of  TIME,  such as the MOVING TIME  and MOVING OBSERVER metaphors. Chapter two provides an outline of conceptual blending theory, and presents a conceptual blending account of the structure of conventional models of TIME. The third chapter contains a discussion of the role of episodic memory, mental time travel, and conventional models of LOCATION and CHANGE OF LOCATION in the conceptualization of the MOVEMENT IN TIME,  the analysis of novel scenarios of MOVEMENT IN TIME in science fiction, in relation to the model of  NATURAL LOCATIONS of the  SELF that the particular scenario activates, the discussion of the possible clashes between the frames of MOVEMENT IN TIME and MOVEMENT IN SPACE in time-travel science fiction, and  a survey of several extensions of conventional models of CAUSATION, as related to the novel extensions of conventional models of  TIME  in science fiction. The analyses employ theoretical models provided by cognitive linguistics, notably conceptual blending theory and conceptual metaphor theory. The source texts discussed in the third chapter include science fiction stories by Terry Carr, L. Sprague de Camp, Henry Kuttner and James Tiptree Jr., as well as the novel The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.

Metaphor [Taverniers 2002]

by Miriam Taverniers

Taverniers, Miriam. 2002. Metaphor. In: Verschueren, Jef; Jan-Ola Östman; Jan Blommaert & Chris Bulcaen (eds.) Handbook of Pragmatics 2002. Amsterdam: Benjamins.

This paper focuses on the conception of metaphor in linguistics (the primary theoretical niche of the Handbook of... more This paper focuses on the conception of metaphor in linguistics (the primary theoretical niche of the Handbook of Pragmatics), and, to a lesser extent, philosophical theories of metaphor (philosophy being the first field in which metaphor came to be looked at).
In the linguistic study of metaphor as a whole, two general aspects are important: (i) types of metaphors, i.e. the recognition and classification of different categories of metaphors as linguistic expressions; and (ii) theories of metaphor, i.e. the definition and explanation of metaphor as a linguistic process. This paper focuses on the first aspect, since extensive treatments of the different ways in which metaphors can be classified are relatively rare in the literature on metaphor, while distinctions and relations between theoretical frameworks have often been highlighted (cf. below), albeit not often in a comprehensive manner.
This paper is organized as follows. In section 2, the variation between major types of linguistic approaches to metaphor will cursorily be looked at. Section 3, which forms the greater part of this paper, discusses a number of different classifications of metaphor. After this discussion, these typologies of metaphor are placed in a larger framework explaining the variation between them (§ 4). The paper ends with a summary of a number of further issues which have come to be highlighted in relation to specific types of metaphors, or in relation to particular perspectives on the classification of metaphor types (§ 5).

Review Forum on Cook's Analysing Musical Multimedia

by Joshua B. Mailman

More than a metaphor

by Riccardo Fusaroli

Co-authored with Claudio Vandi, published in  in Studies in Language and Cognition, J. Zlatev, M. Andrén, M. Johansson Falck, C. Lundmark (eds). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008.

A Model of the Role of Conceptual Metaphors in Hypermedia Comprehension

by Pierre Fastrez

Co-authored with Anne-Sophie Collard,
Published in 'Proceedings of CICOM 2009 - Communication Sciences International Congress on Communication, Cognition and Media', 2009, Braga, Portugal, pp. 241-255

This paper presents a model of metaphorical processes at play in hypermedia comprehension based on conceptual metaphor... more This paper presents a model of metaphorical processes at play in hypermedia comprehension based on conceptual metaphor theory and blending theory. Hypermedia are metaphorically understood through a process which involves three “layers” of metaphors structured hierarchically: primary metaphors, generic metaphors and specific metaphors. Higher-level projections inherit the structure of lower-level ones. A major hypothesis supported by our model is that this metaphorical comprehension of hypermedia and navigation activity influences the way users interact with the system and understand its informational contents. The proposed model relies on behavioral and discursive data about user interaction with a hyperdocument.

Navigation hypertextuelle et acquisition de connaissances. Etude de l'influence de la construction d'un hypermédia éducatif sur l'organisation des …

by Pierre Fastrez

Doctoral dissertation

Den magiske illusion

by Jesper Sørensen

(in Danish)

Den magiske illusion

by Jesper Sørensen

(in Danish)

Magic among the Trobrianders: Conceptual mapping in magical rituals

by Jesper Sørensen

The Morphology and Function of Magic revisited

by Jesper Sørensen

A cognitive theory of magic

by Jesper Sørensen

Yesterday is another country companion presentation

by Rembrandt Klopper

Cognitive Poetics and Ancient Texts

by Hugo Lundhaug

Published in Willy Østreng (ed.), Complexity (Interdisciplinary Communications 2006/2007; Oslo: Centre for Advanced Study, 2008), 18-21.

“These are the Symbols and Likenesses of the Resurrection”: Conceptualizations of Death and Transformation in the Treatise on the Resurrection (NHC I, 4)

by Hugo Lundhaug

Published in Turid Karlsen Seim and Jorunn Økland (eds.), Metamorphoses: Resurrection, Body and Transformative Practices in Early Christianity (Ekstasis: Religious Experience from Antiquity to the Middle Ages 1; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2009), 187-205.

Canon and Interpretation: A Cognitive Perspective

by Hugo Lundhaug

Published in Einar Thomassen (ed.), Canon and Canonicity: The Formation and Use of Scripture (Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2010), 67-90.

Conceptual Blending in the Exegesis on the Soul

by Hugo Lundhaug

Published in Petri Luomanen, Ilkka Pyysiäinen, and Risto Uro (eds.), Explaining Christian Origins and Early Judaism: Contributions from Cognitive and Social Science (Biblical Interpretation Series 89; Leiden: Brill, 2007), 141-160.

Blending the Erotic and the Divine In Mystical Literature

by Vito Evola

Presented at “Language, Culture & Mind: Integrated Perspectives & Methodologies in the Study of Language” University of Portsmouth (UK), July 18-20, 2004