ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 looks at how humans have been interested in space and describes a brief history of scholarly discussions of space and scientific studies of spatial cognition. The chapter starts with philosophical treatments of the concept of space and anecdotal reports of spatial disorientation and exceptional sense of orientation. It then looks at early studies about the orientation of maps and the characteristics of “imaginary maps” of the environment, and discusses the development of spatial concepts, the concept of cognitive maps, the idea of affordances, and the image of the city. The chapter lastly describes neuroscientific research on the workings of the brain in spatial cognition.
