The fallacy of the cognitive free fall in communication metaphor - a semiotic analysis

Martin Muderspach Thellefsen; Torkild Leo Thellefsen; Bent Sørensen

doi:10.1353/lib.2015.0011

The fallacy of the cognitive free fall in communication metaphor - a semiotic analysis

Martin Muderspach Thellefsen, Torkild Leo Thellefsen, Bent Sørensen

Department of Communication

1 Citation (Scopus)

117 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper is a theoretical analysis of the cognitive free-fall metaphor, used within the cognitive view, as a model for explaining the communication process between a generator and a receiver of a message. Its aim is to demonstrate that the idea of a cognitive free fall taking place within this communication process leads to apparent theoretical paradoxes, partly fostered by unclear definitions of key information-science concepts—namely, tokens, signs, information, and knowledge and their interrelatedness—and a naïve theoretical framework. The paper promotes a semiotically inspired model of communication that demonstrates that what takes place in communication is not a cognitive free fall, but rather a fall from a pragmatic level of knowing or knowledge to a level of representation or information. The paper further argues that the communication process more ideally can be expressed as a complex interrelation of emotion, information, and cognition.

Original language	English
Journal	Library Trends
Volume	63
Issue number	3
Pages (from-to)	512-527
Number of pages	16
ISSN	0024-2594
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2015.0011
Publication status	Published - 2015

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Faculty of Humanities

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thellefsen

https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/library_trends/v063/63.3.thellefsen.pdf

Cite this

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title = "The fallacy of the cognitive free fall in communication metaphor - a semiotic analysis",

abstract = "This paper is a theoretical analysis of the cognitive free-fall metaphor, used within the cognitive view, as a model for explaining the communication process between a generator and a receiver of a message. Its aim is to demonstrate that the idea of a cognitive free fall taking place within this communication process leads to apparent theoretical paradoxes, partly fostered by unclear definitions of key information-science concepts—namely, tokens, signs, information, and knowledge and their interrelatedness—and a na{\"i}ve theoretical framework. The paper promotes a semiotically inspired model of communication that demonstrates that what takes place in communication is not a cognitive free fall, but rather a fall from a pragmatic level of knowing or knowledge to a level of representation or information. The paper further argues that the communication process more ideally can be expressed as a complex interrelation of emotion, information, and cognition.",

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AB - This paper is a theoretical analysis of the cognitive free-fall metaphor, used within the cognitive view, as a model for explaining the communication process between a generator and a receiver of a message. Its aim is to demonstrate that the idea of a cognitive free fall taking place within this communication process leads to apparent theoretical paradoxes, partly fostered by unclear definitions of key information-science concepts—namely, tokens, signs, information, and knowledge and their interrelatedness—and a naïve theoretical framework. The paper promotes a semiotically inspired model of communication that demonstrates that what takes place in communication is not a cognitive free fall, but rather a fall from a pragmatic level of knowing or knowledge to a level of representation or information. The paper further argues that the communication process more ideally can be expressed as a complex interrelation of emotion, information, and cognition.

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The fallacy of the cognitive free fall in communication metaphor - a semiotic analysis

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