Signs of Intelligent Life

Abstract

A chapter from a collection of 28 short interviews with scholars, all in response to five questions: 1. Why were you initially drawn to the theory of signs and meaning? 2. What do you consider your contribution to the field? 3. What is the proper role of a theory of signs and meaning in relation to other academic disciplines? 4. What do you consider the most important topics and contributions in the theory of meaning and signs? 5. What are the most important open problems in this field and what are the prospects for progress?

Keywords: blending, conceptual integration, signs, meaning, communication, linguistics