Generalize and Blend: Concept Blending Based on Generalization, Analogy, and Amalgams

Concept blending, a cognitive process which allows for the combination of certain elements (and their relations) from originally distinct conceptual spaces into a new unified space combining these previously separate ele- ments and allowing the performance of reasoning and inference over the combination, is taken as a key ele- ment of creative thought and combinatorial creativity. In this paper, we provide an intermediate report on work towards the development of a computational-level and algorithmic-level account of concept blending, present- ing the theoretical background together with the main model characteristics, as well as two case studies.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Future and Emerging Technologies within the 7th Framework Pro- gramme for Research of the European Commission, under FET-Open grant 611553 (COINVENT).Peer Reviewe