Metaphor Theory: New Paradigm for Cognitive Science?
I scan many books in a year’s time. I study bits and pieces of scores of books over that time period. At most I will study one book from beginning to end during a twelve-month period. (By the way, I am retired and have time for such things.) There is one book now that I am studying from beginning to end. That is “Philosophy in the Flesh†by Lakoff and Johnson. Lakoff is a linguist and Johnson the head of the philosophy department at the University of Oregon.
The book is an explanation of metaphor theory that I predict will become the first paradigm of cognitive science some day. Most books have less than ten- percent new material. This book I would guess has more than eighty- percent new stuff. What this means for the reader is that there are many new concepts to understand. In my opinion this book is revolutionary and a must read for anyone interested in the human condition. You can probably find it in the library of your local community library. Go there, get a card, borrow the book, and if you don’t give up too soon you will agree with me. (I think!).
I shall try to explain very briefly the heart of metaphor theory. I cannot give this in a scientific manner because this forum would not allow it and I am not capable of doing so anyway. I shall try to use a library analogy to explain metaphor theory.
Let me take some liberties and ask you to assume that the mind to be a library with shelves that are mostly, but not completely, empty at birth.
An infant is born and is held for the first time. A book goes on the shelf for sensorimotor experiences and is labeled ‘warmth’. A little later the infant is held by its mother and is fed. Several books go on the shelf next to warmth—‘hunger-satisfied’, ‘affection’, ‘warmth’, and others.
Now move forward a brief time and something happens to these books. Affection is a different kind of concept than warmth and hunger-satisfied, which are sensorimotor concepts. Affection is an abstract concept. In the beginning these different kinds of experiences are conflated but later in time the abstract subjective concept separates itself from the sense and motor concepts. A new shelf begins that contains these abstract concepts.
Because of the conflation when affection goes to the new shelf it takes with it much of the contents of the other books. Affection becomes an abstract concept that carries much of the structure contained in warmth. We see this association when it seems perfectly correct to use the metaphor love is a warm cuddley feeling.
What I am trying to say here is that primary experiences, and we have many so qualified, become primary metaphors. A primary experience-become-primary-metaphor is carried forward in futhure experiences to become part of the structure of later experiences. “Early conflations in everyday experience should lead to the automatic formation of hundreds of primary metaphors that pair subjective experience and judgement with sensorimotor experiences. Each primary metaphor…is simple, an atomic component of the molecular structure of complex metaphors.â€
After a period of time we would have a whole section of the library that might be called ‘primary experiences-become-primary-metaphors’. These books would be destined to become part of the contents of all or many later experiences or abstract concepts. As we go through life the structures of these primary metaphors become integrated within all books in the library. Everything in the library is grounded in these primary metaphors.
Cognitive science, which seems to consist primarily of linguists, philosophers and neural scientists, has in the last three decades compiled much empirical evidence to support this theory. One part of this evidence is contained in the fact that there are many commonly used metaphors used in all languages that are the same. This indicates that we have innately connected some things with some other things. An expample of such metaphors are:
Affection is Warmth
Important is Big
Happy is Up
Intimacy is Closeness
Bad is Stinky
Difficulties are Burdens
More is Up
Categories are Containers
Help is Support
Change is Motion
Purposes are Destinations
Knowing is Seeing
Understanding is Grasping
Seeing is Touching
This theory takes the dichotomy out of mind and body and places mind radically (without compromise) in the body. All of the mystical ‘a priors’ of Western philosophy are trashed. I may overspeak in some places here due to ignorance. I reserve the right to make some statements inoperative later.
