A Sense of Space

Abstract

We tend to perceive and understand the world in a spatial manner: distances, orientations, places, and sizes. This chapter gives a global introduction to the central spatial activities of the human brain. It does so by sketching the various tasks and challenges we are faced with when making a first visit to a friend’s new home: turning (verbal) route instructions into mental maps and appropriate spatial behaviors, finding relevant objects such as the car keys when starting the journey, negotiating traffic in a dynamic spatial world, and finally navigating back home after some time. Elaborating upon this example, a number of central topics in spatial cognition are discussed, including the nature and measurement of physical space, the nature and division of mental space and the role spatial reference frames play. The chapter ends with reviewing some classical philosophical debates regarding the essence of space.