Cognitive Meaning: Review of the Concepts of Imagination, Image Schema and Mental Image and Consequences on the Conceptualization of Emotions

Abstract

Contrary to what was advocated during the last century, today we know that cognition is not atomistic but has gestalt and imaginative properties. Central nervous system is not involved in preparing the mind evenly, but the various regions involved have some guidelines that interconnect very complex signals. Particularly, knowledge is understood as a journey that uses neural imagination as a basis and is sophisticated in mental imagination. The first stage of knowledge is linked to pre-linguistic cognition and perception (Psychology), neural images (Neurology), image schemes (Philosophy and Psycholinguistics ) and emotional themes (Psychology). However, the second stage of knowledge is linked to linguistic cognition and conceptualization (Psychology and Linguistics), mental images (Psychology and Linguistics) and cognitive-emotional variants (Psychology). In other words, reality, experience and knowledge are conceptualized as an emotional journey (theme) that are gradually formed until the feeling (variation) . Thus, imagination can be understood as the cognitive-emotional process that, from image schemes and neural images (perception) leads to mental images (conceptualization).