Computing contrast on conceptual spaces

This paper provides an updated formalization of the operation of contrast, and shows that, by applying it on conceptual spaces, membership functions to categories as e.g. those captured by adjectives or directional relationships emerge as a natural by-product. Because the outcome of contrast depends not only on the objects contrasted (a target and a reference, as for instance a prototype), but also on the frame in which those are contained, it is argued that contrast enables a continuous contextualization, offering a basis for “on the fly” predication. This investigation is used for inferring general requirements for the application of contrast and its generalization, and for comparison with current practices in the conceptual space literature.