The Image Schema Workshop

The image schema workshop is running its fourth edition in Bozen-Bolzano, Italy. It is devoted to interdisciplinary investigations of image schemas and similar conceptual primitives.

The workshop calls for participation from anyone interested in meeting researchers on the topic and this year we intend to publish a selected number of extended versions of the submitted abstract as publications in a special issue devoted to image schemas and related topics.

Participation in the workshop can be done either through active participation with an abstract submission or simply to participate in the audience and during the discussions. Note that for potential publication in the special issue an abstract needs to be submitted to the workshop.

More info to come…

What are image schemas?

Image schemas are the conceptual building blocks learned from early sensorimotor processes. The theory stems from the ideas behind embodied cognition, in which cognition is thought to occur as a consequence of the body's interaction with the environment. The research has traditionally been conducted in cognitive linguistics, but also developmental psychology and design. Recently also artificial intelligence has taken a liking to the potential impact image schemas may have as a bridge between the physical world and the human mind.

A psychologist may study how children develop them; a philosopher might structure them ontologically; a neuroscientist might wonder how directly they are connected to neural activation in motor cortex; a linguist may wonder what spatial language has to do with abstract concepts; and an AI specialist might work on how to integrate image schemas into a system for natural language understanding or even building an artificial baby.

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