Gestalt-Based Linguistics and the GABEK Method:What Cognitive Science Has to Say on ‘Space Logic’ in Everyday Thought

Cognitive linguistics confirms Zelger’s (1999, 2000) basic proposition about the condensation and spatial grouping of knowledge into gestalt clusters. The cognitive linguistic approach to conceptual and linguistic gestalten opens a vista on further facets of real-life cognition that might be incorporated into GABEK. Various cognitive findings point to constraints on automated gestalt building and caution us to consider top-down and bottom-up processes of thematic integration in combination. Suggestions for method development in GABEK include taking cognitive dilemmas more seriously and analysing clashing gestalten as integrated tropes.