The Abstraction Engine

Extracting patterns in language, mind and brain

Michael Fortescue

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027213617 | EUR 95.00 | USD 143.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027265845 | EUR 95.00 | USD 143.00

The main thesis of this book is that abstraction, far from being confined to higher forms of cognition, language and logical reasoning, has actually been a major driving force throughout the evolution of creatures with brains. It is manifest in emotive as well as rational thought. Wending its way through the various facets of abstraction, the book attempts to clarify – and relate – the often confusing meanings of the word ‘abstract’ that one may encounter even within the same discipline. The unusual synoptic approach, which draws upon research in psychology, neural network theory, child language acquisition, philosophy and consciousness studies, as well as a variety of linguistic disciplines, cannot be compared directly to other books on the market that touch upon just one particular aspect of abstraction. It is aimed at a wide readership – anyone interested in the nature of abstraction and the cognitive processing and purpose behind it. (series A)

[Advances in Consciousness Research, 94] 2017. vi, 192 pp.

Publishing status: Available

https://doi.org/10.1075/aicr.94

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction: Abstraction all the way down | pp. 1–6

Chapter 2. Language, abstract and less abstract | pp. 7–28

Chapter 3. Cognitive linguistics: Language embodied | pp. 29–38

Chapter 4. Abstraction, metaphor and cultural context | pp. 39–51

Chapter 5. The abstraction of events in narrative and memory | pp. 53–71

Chapter 6. Pre-linguistic abstraction and projection: Perception and imagination | pp. 73–84

Chapter 7. The feel of things: Abstract emotion | pp. 85–94

Chapter 8. Neurological underpinnings: The world seen through hidden layers | pp. 95–109

Chapter 9. Abstraction at work: It’s child’s play | pp. 111–121

Chapter 10. The philosophical approach | pp. 123–148

Chapter 11. Abstraction all the way up: Its evolutionary purpose | pp. 149–174

References | pp. 175–184

Name index | pp. 185–187

Subject index | pp. 189–192

“Abstract, abstractness, abstraction: we know more or less what we mean by these terms. Or do we? Michael Fortescue, in this provocative and compelling book, analyzes types of abstraction and processes that involve them, in a wide-ranging survey of theories in linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy, and psychology; placing them in the context of cosmological and evolutionary considerations.”

Chris Sinha, Hunan University

“The ability to abstract patterns from the particular is central to human thought and language. In this important and engaging book, Fortescue argues convincingly that abstraction is the hallmark of human cognition. Both compelling and insightful, the book brings together different approaches and findings from across the language and cognitive sciences. The result is a new and exciting perspective on the not-so-small matter of what makes us so smart.”

Vyvyan Evans , www.vyvevans.net

“In sum, The Abstraction Engine is an impressive piece of work that thoroughly examines the importance of abstraction and projection in language, the mind and the brain. While hinging on one central concept, the book spreads out into an extensive discussion of abstraction as pertaining to various fields of scientific interest, including psychology, neuroscience, philosophy and various linguistic disciplines.”

Wout Van Praet, UNamur and KU Leuven, in English Text Construction 11:2 (2018)

Cited by (6)

Cited by six other publications

Order by:

Nikolaienko, Valeriia

2023. Patterns of evidentials use in dream narratives. Cognition, Communication, Discourse :26 ► pp. 109 ff.

Vázquez Espinosa, Eliel & Tomás Felipe Cahuich Cahuich

2023. Análisis correlacional del razonamiento lógico abstracto y deductivo con el rendimiento académico en general y en el área matemática. RIEE | Revista Internacional de Estudios en Educación 23:2 ► pp. 87 ff.

Fortescue, Michael

2022. Quantum Cognition – Quantum Analogy. European Review 30:5 ► pp. 708 ff.

Izzidien, Ahmed

2022. Word vector embeddings hold social ontological relations capable of reflecting meaningful fairness assessments. AI & SOCIETY 37:1 ► pp. 299 ff.

Macqueen, Susy & Ute Knoch

2020. Chapter 4. Adaptive imitation. In Complex Dynamic Systems Theory and L2 Writing Development [Language Learning & Language Teaching, 54], ► pp. 81 ff.

[no author supplied]

2024. Space, Time, World [Human Cognitive Processing, 77],

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 25 august 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

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