Space to Reason: A Spatial Theory of Human Thought PDF
Preview Space to Reason: A Spatial Theory of Human Thought
cognitive science/psychology k maRkuS knauff maRkuS knauff n a “If you think you use mental ‘pictures’ to reason, this book puts you straight. Images u f impede reasoning. The book uses experiments, brain imaging, and the intuitions of a Nobel Space to ReaSon f Prize–winning novelist to show that what you rely on are spatial representations. Every psychologist’s bookshelves should make space for Space to Reason.” a Spatial theoRy of human thought Philip Johnson-Laird, Stuart Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, Princeton University markus knauff is chair of experimental “Markus Knauff presents and analyzes core questions of human thinking in a clear and S Many scholars believe that visual mental imagery plays a enjoyable way. He discusses highly controversial issues of cognitive science and points psychology and cognitive Science at the p key role in reasoning. In Space to Reason, Markus Knauff out implications from research of several disciplines that establish a solid basis for future university of giessen, germany. a argues against this view, proposing that visual images are research. This book is a must for everyone interested in cognitive science, the imagery c not relevant for reasoning and can even impede the pro- debate, spatial cognition, and human reasoning.” e cess. He also argues against the claim that human think- Christian Freksa, Cognitive Systems, University of Bremen ing is solely based on abstract symbols and is completely t embedded in language. Knauff proposes a third way to think “Markus Knauff marshals an artful combination of behavioral, neural, and computational o about human reasoning that relies on supramodal spatial evidence to analyze the interactions of visual and spatial representations in reasoning. layout models, which are more abstract than pictorial im- R This novel contribution will be interesting to anyone concerned with mental imagery or ages and more concrete than linguistic representations. He e spatial cognition.” argues that these spatial layout models are at the heart of a Kenneth Forbus, Northwestern University human thought, even thought about nonspatial relations in S the world. o “Markus Knauff provides clear evidence and an engaging, scholarly argument that spatial For Knauff the visual images that we so often associ- reasoning is at the center of human thought in this excellent, comprehensive, and original n ate with reasoning are only in the foreground of conscious contribution to our understanding of spatial imagination and the rational mind.” experience. Behind the images, the actual logical work is carried out by reasoning-specific operations on these spatial Ruth Byrne, Professor of Cognitive Science, Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin layout models. Knauff also offers a solution to the problem “Space to Reason offers a creative and compelling analysis of the role of spatial repre- of indeterminacy in human reasoning, introducing the no- sentations in human reasoning, one that is based on scientific evidence and grounded in tion of a preferred layout model, which is one layout model research-based theory. Within the context of human reasoning tasks, Markus Knauff builds Spa ce to ReaSon among others that has the best chance of being mentally the case for a distinction between visual images (which can impede reasoning) and constructed and thus guides the further process of thought. spatial representations (which can aid reasoning). If you are interested in understanding Knauff’s “space to reason” theory covers the functional, the how people use their imagination in reasoning, this book belongs on your bookshelf.” algorithmic, and the implementational levels of analysis a Spatial theoRy of human thought and is corroborated by psychological experiments, functional Richard E. Mayer, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, brain imaging, and computational modeling. and author of Multimedia Learning: Second Edition 978-0-262-01865-4 the mit press massachusetts institute of technology cambridge, massachusetts 02142 http://mitpress.mit.edu Space to Reason Space to Reason: A Spatial Theory of Human Thought Markus Knauff The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England © 2013 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. MIT Press books may be purchased at special quantity discounts for business or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected] or write to Special Sales Department, The MIT Press, 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. This book was set in Stone Sans and Stone Serif by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Knauff, Markus. Space to reason : a spatial theory of human thought / Markus Knauff. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 978-0-262-01865-4 (alk. paper) 1. Thought and thinking. 2. Reasoning. 3. Space. I. Title. BF441.K535 2013 153.4′ 3 — dc23 2012026835 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To the memory of my mother Contents Preface ix 1 Inner Eye and Inner Space 1 2 Reasoning and Spatial Layout Models 21 3 Reasoning and Imageability 41 4 Reasoning and Working Memory 59 5 Reasoning and the Brain 75 6 Indeterminacy and Preferred Layout Models 109 7 The Core Theory in a Computer Program 133 8 Explaining the Myth of Thinking in Pictures 177 9 What We Can Learn from a Neanderthal Woman 205 Notes 225 References 229 Author Index 271 Subject Index 281 Preface This book is about imagination! And it is about logic! Two things that do not fit together? Imagination is often seen as something mysterious, and an Internet search brings you right away to quite esoteric pages or to scurrilous advertisements of miracle healers. Logic, on the contrary, is the epitome of rationality. . Emotions are often considered to be a good thing, but logic is cold and an inhuman and heartless business. My goal in this book is to provide a fresh and more rational view of the role of imagination in human logical reasoning. My first intention is to show that the concepts of imagination and logic share a long past and that the scientific studies of both have much to do with each other. My second motivation is to resolve some misconceptions about the role of visual mental imagery in human thought. One way to think about mental imagery follows from people ’ s common report of experiencing their thinking as “ seeing with their inner eye” or as having a “ picturelike experience” in their head. Another way to think about it goes beyond the introspective and subjective experi- ence (which almost nobody would deny) and defines visual imagery as something “ real ” in our brains that plays an essential
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