Publisher Description

First published in 1985 (MIT Press), Fauconnier's influential book, Mental Spaces, was instrumental in shaping the new field of cognitive linguistics. The concept of mental spaces—that we develop constructs during discourse that are distinct from linguistic constructs but are established by linguistic expressions—provides a powerful new approach to problems in philosophy and cognitive science concerning thought and language. It includes a new preface that provides context for the theory, and a new foreword by George Lakoff and Eve Sweetser (both of U.C. Berkeley).

Author Biography

Gilles Fauconnier is professor in the Department of Cognitive Science at the University of California, San Diego. Eve Sweetser is associate professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley.

Table of Contents

1. Pragmatic functions and images; 2. Roles and multiple connectors; 3. Presuppositions: floating, transfer, and projection strategies; 4. Counterfactuals and comparatives; 5. Transspatial operators, philosophical issues, and future perspectives; Notes; References; Index.

Review

'In Fauconnier's, at long last, published book Mental Spaces, he describes a theory of human knowledge representation and linguistic processing that provides a simple and uniform account of a wide variety of problems that have long perplexed both linguists and philosophers of language ... Fauconnier's theory is particularly important in its identification of the role of cognitive factors, especially principles for organizing knowledge and procedural strategies for semantic interpretation, in what is often loosely termed the 'logic' of natural language ... The study of mental spaces as a cohesive and pervasive organizational device is a powerful new idea.' John Dinsmore, Cognitive Science

Review Quote

'In Fauconnier's, at long last, published book Mental Spaces, he describes a theory of human knowledge representation and linguistic processing that provides a simple and uniform account of a wide variety of problems that have long perplexed both linguists and philosophers of language ... Fauconnier's theory is particularly important in its identification of the role of cognitive factors, especially principles for organizing knowledge and procedural strategies for semantic interpretation, in what is often loosely termed the 'logic' of natural language ... The study of mental spaces as a cohesive and pervasive organizational device is a powerful new idea.' John Dinsmore, Cognitive Science

Promotional "Headline"

The classic introduction to the study of mental spaces and conceptual projection.

Description for Bookstore

Mental Spaces is the classic introduction to the study of mental spaces and conceptual projection through the structure and use of language. It examines in detail the dynamic construction of connected domains as discourse unfolds. The discovery of mental space organization has modified our conception of language and thought. The present work lays the foundation for this research.

Description for Library

Mental Spaces is the classic introduction to the study of mental spaces and conceptual projection through the structure and use of language. It examines in detail the dynamic construction of connected domains as discourse unfolds. The discovery of mental space organization has modified our conception of language and thought. The present work lays the foundation for this research.

Details