Mental Spaces is the classic introduction to the study of mental spaces and conceptual projection, as revealed 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: powerful and uniform accounts of superficially disparate phenomena have become available in the areas of reference, presupposition projection, counterfactual and analogical reasoning, metaphor and metonymy, and time and aspect in discourse. The present work lays the foundation for this research. It uncovers simple and general principles that lie behind the awesome complexity of everyday logic.
There is a strong case today for a specific focus on mental public health and its relation to social and physical environments. From a public health perspective, we now appreciate the enormous significance of mental distress and illness as causes of disability and impairment. Stress and anxiety, and other mental illnesses are linked to risks in the environment. This book questions how and why the social and physical environment matters for mental health and psychological wellbeing in human populations. While putting forward a number of different points of view, there is a particular emphasis on ideas and research from health geography, which conceptualises space and place in ways that provide a distinctive focus on the interactions between people and their social and physical environment. The book begins with an overview of a rich body of theory and research from sociology, psychology, social epidemiology, social psychiatry and neuroscience, considering arguments concerning 'mind-body dualism', and presenting a conceptual framework for studying how attributes of 'space' and 'place' are associated with human mental wellbeing. It goes on to look in detail at how our mental health is associated with material, or physical, aspects of our environment (such as 'natural' and built landscapes), with social environments (involving social relationships in communities), and with symbolic and imagined spaces (representing the personal, cultural and spiritual meanings of places). These relationships are shown to be complex, with potential to be beneficial or hazardous for mental health. The final chapters of the book consider spaces of care and the implications of space and place for public mental health policy, offering a broader view of how mental health might be improved at the population level. With boxed case studies of specific research ideas and methods, chapter summaries and suggestions for introductory reading, this book offers a comprehensive introduction which will be valuable for students of health geography, public health, sociology and anthropology of health and illness. It also provides an interdisciplinary review of the literature, by the author and by other writers, to frame a discussion of issues that challenge more advanced researchers in these fields.
Over the past decade, Cognitive Linguistics has grown to be one of the most broadly appealing and dynamic frameworks for the study of natural language. Essentially, this new school of linguistics focuses on the meaning side of language: linguistic form is analysed as an expression of meaning. And meaning itself is not something that exists in isolation, but it is integrated with the full spectrum of human experience: the fact that we are embodied beings just as much as the fact that we are cultural beings. Cognitive Linguistics: Basic Readings brings together twelve foundational articles, each of which introduces one of the basic concepts of Cognitive Linguistics, like conceptual metaphor, image schemas, mental spaces, construction grammar, prototypicality and radial sets. The collection features the founding fathers of Cognitive Linguistics: George Lakoff, Ron Langacker, Len Talmy, Gilles Fauconnier, and Charles Fillmore, together with some of the most influential younger scholars. By its choice of seminal papers and leading authors, Basic Readings is specifically suited for an introductory course in Cognitive Linguistics. This is further supported by a general introduction to the theory and, specifically, the practice of Cognitive Linguistics and by trajectories for further reading that start out from the individual chapters.
Rush, rush, fast life, too much pressure, too much work, no time to stop, no time to think... Had enough? This is the book that will help you get perspective and make space to think clearly and be happier too. Couldn't you do with some mental space?
Through a series of case studies this book brings to the fore the voices, lives, and capacities of people with mental health problems as well as the difficulties they face. It effectively demonstrates the ways people with mental health problems are active in re-scripting versions of social recovery through their use of very different community spaces. Offers a 'hopeful epistemology' not typically found in mental health-related research Interrogates neo-liberal dogma that defines people with mental health problems as active social citizens wholly responsible for their own recoveries and acceptance Brings to the fore the voices of, lives, capacities and difficulties facing people with mental health problems Imaginatively differentiates rural, urban, interest and technological communities, disrupting familiar and conventional accounts of social inclusion and 'the local' Demonstrates how people with mental health problems are active in re-scripting their own social recoveries through their use and understanding of different social spaces
This book explores the conceptual spaces and socio-legal context which mental capacity laws inhabit. It will be seen that these norms are created and reproduced through the binaries that pervade mental capacity laws in liberal legal jurisdictions- such as capacity/incapacity; autonomy/paternalism; empowerment/protection; carer/cared-for; disabled/non-disabled; public/private. Whilst on one level the book demonstrates the pervasive reach of laws questioning individuals mental capacity, within and beyond the medical context which it is most commonly associated with, at a deeper and perhaps more important level it challenges the underlying norms and assumptions underpinning the very idea of mental capacity, and reflects outwards on the transformative potential of these realisations for other areas of law. In doing so, whilst the book offers lessons for mental capacity law scholarship in terms of reform efforts at both domestic and internationals levels, it also offers ways to develop our understandings of a range of linked legal, policy and theoretical concepts. In so doing, it offers new critical vantage points for both legal critique and conceptual change beyond mental capacity law. The book will be of interest to researchers in mental capacity law, disability law and socio-legal studies as well as critical geographers and disability studies scholars.
"When it comes to ministry related to mental health concerns, prayer and Scripture are not enough. Beginning with the biblical motif of going to the village well for the waters that sustain life and exploring the communal significance of that well, pastor, professor, and clinical psychologist Jessica Young Brown calls on the Black Church to rally its historic resilience and creativity to acknowledge and engage those in its pews who are struggling with mental health concerns. Using the acronym of SPACE, the author discusses: Silencing the Stigma ... naming the negative attitudes and mistaken assumptions about mental illness, especially in the African American community Presence & Persistence ... identifying the importance of authentic relationships in healing mind and spirit Application & Action ... highlighting practical steps to address the needs as they emerge Cautions ... being real about the fears and risks related to mental health crises, including the importance of referrals Expression & Exhortation ... calling on the cultural power of testimony to encourage the entire congregation to access the healing power of God Rev. Dr. Young Brown concludes with a practical exploration of "Now What? Digging the Well and Drawing from It." The book's appendix features a brief primer on common mental disorders that frequently affect members of our family, neighborhood, and church"--
Conditional constructions have long fascinated linguists, grammarians and philosophers. In this pioneering new study, Barbara Dancygier and Eve Sweetser offer a new descriptive framework for the study of conditionality, broadening the range of richly described conditional constructions. They explore theoretical issues such as the mental-space-building processes underlying conditional thinking and the form-meaning relationship involved in expressing conditionality. Using a broad range of attested English conditional constructions, the book examines inter-constructional relationships. Within the framework of Mental Spaces Theory, shared parameters of meaning are shown to be relevant to conditional constructions generally, as well as related temporal and causal constructions. This significant contribution to the field will be welcomed by a wide range of researchers in theoretical and cognitive linguistics.
In the highly influential mental-spaces framework developed by Gilles Fauconnier in the mid-1980s, the mind creates multiple cognitive "spaces" to mediate its understanding of relations and activities in the world, and to engage in creative thought. These twelve original papers extend the mental-spaces framework and demonstrate its utility in solving deep problems in linguistics and discourse theory. Investigating the ties between mental constructs, they analyze a wide range of phenomena, including analogical counterfactuals; the metaphor system for conceptualizing the self; abstract change expressions in Japanese; mood in Spanish; deictic expressions; copular sentences in Japanese; conditional constructions; and reference in American Sign Language. The ground-breaking research presented in this volume will be of interest to linguists and cognitive scientists. The contributors are Claudia Brugman, Gilles Fauconnier, George Lakoff, Yo Matsumoto, Errapel Mejias-Bikandi, Laura A. Michaelis, Gisela Redeker, Jo Rubba, Shigeru Sakahara, Jose Sanders, Eve Sweetser, and Karen van Hoek.
With 49 chapters written by experts in the field, this reference volume authoritatively covers cognitive linguistics, from basic concepts and models to practical applications.
