Difference between revisions of "Gilles Fauconnier"

Latest revision as of 16:55, 5 October 2026

Gilles Fauconnier (1944-2021) was a linguist and cognitive scientist associated with mental spaces theory and, with Mark Turner, conceptual blending. He was Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science at the University of California, San Diego.

Life and research

The memorial written by Eve Sweetser, Seana Coulson and Mark Turner records Fauconnier's death on 3 February 2021. It describes his early training in mathematics and physics, his linguistics PhD at UC San Diego in 1971, and subsequent doctorates in Paris. His research included reference, negation, conditionals and the construction of meaning. International Cognitive Linguistics Association memorial.

Mental spaces

Mental spaces are small, temporary structures used in constructing meaning during thought and discourse. They help keep track of possibilities, beliefs, remembered events and imagined situations. They should not be equated with physical regions of the brain or with complete bodies of knowledge.

For example, "In the novel, the city survives" establishes a setting in which a statement can hold without asserting that an actual city survived. Comparing what happens in the novel with what a character believes introduces a further distinction between viewpoints. These are illustrative examples of the kind of meaning construction the theory addresses. Fauconnier, "Meaning, Language, Cognition".

Conceptual blending

Fauconnier and Turner developed conceptual blending as an account of how selected elements from different inputs can combine in a mental space with emergent structure. The blend is not simply a mixture of every property of the inputs. Connections, selection and further elaboration matter.

Their work considers metaphor alongside other forms of reasoning and imagination. Blending and conceptual metaphor theory are related areas of inquiry, but a two-domain mapping and a blending network should not be presented as identical descriptions. Turner's research collection on blending and conceptual integration.

Reading and related pages

Conceptual Blending and Mental Spaces
Conceptual Metaphor Theory
Mental Spaces: Aspects of Meaning Construction in Natural Language.
Mappings in Thought and Language (1997).
The Way We Think: Conceptual Blending and the Mind's Hidden Complexities (2002), with Mark Turner. The author's research collection above provides publication information and papers.
Metaphor Categories
Idiomatic, Literal and Figurative Communication

Browse the library

People and authors

Subject index | Stories and literature | All articles A-Z

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-=Gilles Fauconnier=
+[[File:Gilles_Fauconnier.jpg|400px|right]]
+'''Gilles Fauconnier''' (1944-2021) was a linguist and cognitive scientist associated with mental spaces theory and, with Mark Turner, conceptual blending. He was Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science at the University of California, San Diego.
-[[File:Gilles_Fauconnier.jpg|400px|right]]Gilles Fauconnier, born on 19 August 1944 in Paris, France, is a prominent cognitive linguist and researcher known for his work on mental spaces, conceptual blending, and the study of metaphor. Fauconnier's theories have had a significant impact on the fields of linguistics, cognitive science, and the philosophy of language, as he has contributed to the understanding of the cognitive processes underlying human thought and communication.
+== Life and research ==
+The memorial written by Eve Sweetser, Seana Coulson and Mark Turner records Fauconnier's death on 3 February 2021. It describes his early training in mathematics and physics, his linguistics PhD at UC San Diego in 1971, and subsequent doctorates in Paris. His research included reference, negation, conditionals and the construction of meaning. [https://www.cognitivelinguistics.org/index.php/en/blog/detail/in-memoriam-gilles-fauconnier-1944-2021 International Cognitive Linguistics Association memorial.]
-Fauconnier studied mathematics at the École Polytechnique in Paris and later pursued linguistics at the Sorbonne, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1970. His doctoral thesis focused on the linguistic analysis of causality in natural language.
+== Mental spaces ==
+Mental spaces are small, temporary structures used in constructing meaning during thought and discourse. They help keep track of possibilities, beliefs, remembered events and imagined situations. They should not be equated with physical regions of the brain or with complete bodies of knowledge.
-After completing his Ph.D., Fauconnier moved to the United States, where he held teaching positions at several prestigious institutions, including the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and the City University of New York. He eventually settled at UCSD, where he became a professor of cognitive science and served as the chair of the Department of Cognitive Science from 1990 to 1994.
+For example, "In the novel, the city survives" establishes a setting in which a statement can hold without asserting that an actual city survived. Comparing what happens in the novel with what a character believes introduces a further distinction between viewpoints. These are illustrative examples of the kind of meaning construction the theory addresses. [https://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~goguen/courses/271/Fauconnier_99.html Fauconnier, "Meaning, Language, Cognition".]
-===Contributions to Cognitive Linguistics:===
+== Conceptual blending ==
+Fauconnier and Turner developed conceptual blending as an account of how selected elements from different inputs can combine in a mental space with emergent structure. The blend is not simply a mixture of every property of the inputs. Connections, selection and further elaboration matter.
-Fauconnier's work has been influential in the development of cognitive linguistics, a subfield that explores the relationship between language and thought by examining the cognitive processes underlying linguistic structure and use.
+Their work considers metaphor alongside other forms of reasoning and imagination. Blending and [[George Lakoff|conceptual metaphor theory]] are related areas of inquiry, but a two-domain mapping and a blending network should not be presented as identical descriptions. [https://markturner.org/blending.html Turner's research collection on blending and conceptual integration.]
-One of Fauconnier's most significant contributions is his theory of mental spaces. In his book "Mental Spaces: Aspects of Meaning Construction in Natural Language" (1985), Fauconnier argued that meaning construction in language involves the creation and manipulation of mental spaces, which are abstract cognitive domains that represent different aspects of a situation or discourse. Mental spaces are dynamic, temporary structures that enable individuals to make sense of complex linguistic information by organising it into coherent mental representations.
+== Reading and related pages ==
+* [[Conceptual Blending and Mental Spaces]]
+* [[Conceptual Metaphor Theory]]
+* ''Mental Spaces: Aspects of Meaning Construction in Natural Language''.
+* ''Mappings in Thought and Language'' (1997).
+* ''The Way We Think: Conceptual Blending and the Mind's Hidden Complexities'' (2002), with Mark Turner. The author's research collection above provides publication information and papers.
+* [[Metaphor Categories]]
+* [[Idiomatic, Literal and Figurative Communication]]
-In collaboration with cognitive scientist Mark Turner, Fauconnier developed the theory of conceptual blending, also known as conceptual integration. This theory, presented in their book "The Way We Think: Conceptual Blending and the Mind's Hidden Complexities" (2002), posits that human thought and creativity are grounded in the ability to blend different mental spaces to create new meanings, structures, and ideas. Conceptual blending plays a crucial role in various cognitive processes, including metaphor, analogy, and problem-solving.
+== Browse the library ==
+[[:Category:People and authors|People and authors]]
-Fauconnier's work on mental spaces and conceptual blending has also contributed to the study of metaphor. By examining how mental spaces interact and combine in the process of metaphorical meaning construction, Fauconnier has provided valuable insights into the cognitive mechanisms underlying metaphorical thought and expression.
+[[Subject index]] | [[Stories and literature]] | [[Special:AllPages|All articles A-Z]]
-Throughout his career, Gilles Fauconnier has received numerous honours and awards for his contributions to cognitive science and linguistics. In 1999, he was awarded the prestigious Jean Nicod Prize for his work on mental spaces and conceptual blending. Fauconnier's theories have been influential in shaping the study of language, thought, and communication, and his work continues to inspire researchers in the fields of linguistics, cognitive science, and the philosophy of language.
+[[Category:People and authors]]
-==Developments in Metaphor==
-Gilles Fauconnier's work on mental spaces and conceptual blending has had a significant impact on the study of metaphor, as it provides a cognitive framework for understanding how metaphors are constructed and processed in the human mind.
-===Mental Spaces:===
-In Fauconnier's theory of mental spaces, meaning construction in language involves the creation and manipulation of mental spaces, which are abstract cognitive domains representing different aspects of a situation or discourse. Mental spaces are temporary structures that help individuals make sense of complex linguistic information by organising it into coherent mental representations. When it comes to metaphor, mental spaces enable us to map information from one domain (the source domain) onto another (the target domain), thus creating a metaphorical connection.
-For example, in the metaphor "Time is money," we construct two mental spaces: one for the concept of time and another for the concept of money. We then map the properties and relationships associated with money (e.g., spending, saving, investing) onto the concept of time, which results in the metaphorical understanding that time, like money, is a valuable and limited resource.
-===Conceptual Blending:===
-Conceptual blending, also known as conceptual integration, is a cognitive process developed by Fauconnier in collaboration with Mark Turner. The theory posits that human thought and creativity are grounded in the ability to blend different mental spaces to create new meanings, structures, and ideas.
-In the context of metaphor, conceptual blending allows us to merge elements from different mental spaces (source and target domains) to form a new, blended mental space. This blended space inherits certain properties and relationships from both source and target domains, which results in a novel understanding of the metaphorical expression.
-For instance, in the metaphor "The world is a stage," we blend the mental spaces of the world (target domain) and a stage (source domain) to create a new, blended space. In this blended space, the world is understood as a place where people perform roles, just as actors do on a stage. This new understanding emerges from the interaction and blending of the two mental spaces.
-Fauconnier's work on mental spaces and conceptual blending has provided valuable insights into the cognitive mechanisms underlying metaphorical thought and expression. By demonstrating how metaphors are constructed and processed through the interaction and blending of mental spaces, Fauconnier's theories have deepened our understanding of the role of metaphor in language, thought, and communication.