Introducing ISLFOL: A Logical Language for Image Schemas

In the previous chapter, image schemas were suggested to be formally represented as families of theories in which spatiotemporal relationships of similar character were structured hierarchically. This was motivated by findings from developmental psychology and empirical support from linguistic expressions. While the family structure is interesting from a cognitive perspective in itself, in order for image schemas to be integrated into computational concept understanding and invention, a more specific formal representation is required. As of yet, there exists no clear-cut and satisfactory method to logically approach image schemas. Aiming to rectify this problem, this chapter introduces the Image Schema Logic ISLFOL1. The logic is based on previous formalisations of image schemas in which the Region Connection Calculus (RCC) has been demonstrated to efficiently model spatial relationships. Simultaneously, the Qualitative Trajectory Calculus (QTC) is used to model relative object movement between objects and Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) is used as a method to capture the sequential dimension of image-schematic events. The chapter includes considerations and discussions on: Problems with formalising image schemas Previous formalisation approaches Introducing ISLFOL A formalisation of the Two-Object family A formalisation of the PA