A cultural phenomenon that continually amazes me is how the work of George Lakoff -- cognitive scientist, founder of cognitive linguistics, and former mentor of mine -- is glaringly absent from nearly all scholarly references I come across about frame semantics, political discourse, philosophy of mind, and a host of other related areas where his contributions are foundational and profoundly relevant. Somehow he has become a pariah in the scholarly world. My inner memeticist is triggered every time as I ponder why so many people DONT share his work or let it influence their thinking. Having worked with Professor Lakoff, I am aware that he can sometimes be a difficult person to interact with. But that doesnt justify the systematic suppression of his research across so many different scholarly circles. It is just so damn important! As an example, I just came across a graduate thesis on the framing of climate change in the UK media. The student referenced Erving Goffman, Charles Fillmore, Paul Chilton, and several other important contributors to the field of frame analysis. There was even a section on political framing -- yet no mention whatsoever of the numerous books and research articles written by George in the last 40 years. I see a broader pattern in these omissions -- that the great convergence of findings in cognitive science (what I might call the new synthesis of embodied cognition) is also absent. The most revolutionary advances in philosophy and science of the 20th Century, which finally resolve persistent philosophical issues like Mind/Body Dualism and the misconstrued Nature vs. Nurture debate, are being swept under the rug. As a person who spent nearly a decade in universities, I am disappointed that this synthesis that I know so well is not being taught routinely and broadly for the emerging generation of researchers and scholars. How will humanity incorporate and advance the major findings from cognitive science in the last half century if this huge gaping hole persists? [...as an aside, what I note about the omission of Lakoffs work is part of a larger pattern Ive observed throughout the last decade, namely that dozens of research fields have convergent findings that make it unequivocal that the human mind is fundamentally and profoundly embodied...] It has become clear in my unfolding life path that academia doesnt offer a place for me. Thus I develop my trans-disciplinary research and design practice (what I call Culture Design) OUTSIDE of the university where it can flourish more easily. Still, I am saddened each time I come across a field of research where pioneering minds have dedicated so much effort -- and it is not being recognized for its value to humanity writ large. How will this be remedied by the academy? Onward, fellow humans.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 04:09:56 +0000
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