In this article, we look at some aspects of polysemy which derive from the power of meaning potential. More specifically, we focus on aspects linked to the operation of conceptual blending, a major cognitive resource for creativity in many of its manifestations

An investigation of the way in which the basic mental operation of conceptual integration (quot;blendingquot;) is central to grammar.This is an expanded web version of Fauconnier and Turner, 1996 (quot;Blending as a Central Process of Grammar.quot; in lt;igt;Conceptual Structure, Discourse, and...

The study of conceptual mappings, including metaphoric mappings, has produced great insights over the last several decades, not only for the study of language, but also for the study of such subjects as scientific discovery, design, mathematical thinking, and computer interfaces. This tradition...

A reconsideration of the standard questions concerning literal and nonliteral language and thought, from the point of view of conceptual integration theory. The study of figure has been sidetracked from basic conceptual issues since the Greeks, with the surprising and humbling result that the...

Political scientists use experiments to test the predictions of game-theoretic models. In a typical experiment, each subject makes choices that determine her own earnings and the earnings of other subjects, with payments corresponding to the utility payoffs of a theoretical game. But social...

Mental spaces are often connected by vital conceptual relations. When mental spaces serve as inputs to a blended mental space, the vital conceptual relations between them can be ‘compressed’ to blended structure inside the blended mental space. In other words, ‘outer-space’ relations...

Conceptual integration, or "blending," is a basic mental operation with constitutive and governing principles. It underlies human mental singularities and is at the heart of human invention and creativity. "Double-scope" blending is the highest form of conceptual integration and the hallmark of...