According to the theory of embodied embedded cognition, developed by Lakoff, the body as it interacts with its environment has an important effect on how metaphors are originally formed. Gallese & Lakoff (2005) argued that “conceptual knowledge is embodied, that is, it is mapped within our sensory-motor system” (p. 456). Their arguments were based on findings that imagining and doing use a shared neural substrate, which lead them to argue that understanding also has neural substrate roots. They elaborated an interactionist theory based on the embodiment of understandings, in the sense that understanding is “structured by our constant encounter and interaction with the world via our bodies and brains” (Gallese & Lakoff, 2005, p. 456). Insofar as brain circuitry links modalities, “infusing each with properties of others” (Gallese & Lakoff, 2005, p. 456), the sensory-motor system simply exploits the preexisting condition of the sensory-motor system for metaphor formation.
Lakoff (1987) defined all metaphors as being conceptual metaphors, “where part of the structure of a more con...
Figurative language includes metaphors, similes and
Figurative language is in most well written novels. It helps develop the overall theme the author is trying to portray. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, I noticed Harper Lee distinctively used two types of figurative language. The first is symbolism, Lee used this twice during the novel with the mockingbird representing beauty innocence and Boo Radley representing the good in people. The second is motifs, Lee used this to emphasize the small town life in Maycomb, Alabama and helps give a better understanding of the people in the town.
“Metaphor.” Dictionary of World Literature: Criticism - Forms - Technique. Ed. Joseph T. Shipley. New York: Philosophical Library, 1943. 377-8.
In the book, the author has used several metaphors to make the book to be more interesting for the readers of the book. Additionally, the author of the book has used metaphors to bring about some of the meanings in the story. This has made it easy for the readers to be able to understand what they are reading. In conjunction to this, the author has used the metaphors to bring out the character traits of some characters like Janie and Joe in the book. Therefore, it is through metaphors that the book has been very interesting and easy to understand.
The way Anthony Doerr uses his writing structure of metaphors is to strive complexity, toward questions, and away from stereotype. From the national post says,
In his view, "there is no such thing as a single mind, unconnected to other minds or to their (collective) social cultural constructions" (Cunningham, "MOM" handout). If this is taken as fact, the "social, cultural, historical, and institutional contexts" humans find themselves in contribute to creating their metaphors and in turn, their artifactual worlds. Therefore, the situational context and the metaphors found there are intertwined and must be examined together. For example, I work in a juvenile prison. Prison is an interesting cultural context to investigate from its various perspectives.
... A metaphor, used as a communication skill, is best described in a political way. Think of Reagan’s Voodoo economics, or Bill Clinton building a bridge to the 21st century. Politicians can easily scam an ignorant voter, should one not understand a metaphor. For example: Clinton refers to building a bridge, but does not tell us with which tools he intends to build it with. This particular concept is valid alone for the above reason. Whether you are talking to a teacher or watching television, metaphors need to understand.
What is embodiment? The embodiment theory holds that the nature of the human mind is largely determined by the form of the human body. Embodied cognition reflects the argument that the motor system influences our cognition, just as the mind influences bodily actions. People could be more effective if they thought/processed and planned and perceived as little as possible. A person’s intelligence would be used towards only handling the minimal amount of information necessary to make their behavior appropriate and more desirable to society. Our physical experience of the world and our spatial awareness, our bodily movement, and the way we manipulate objects provide the pattern for how we reason about the world. Reason is independent of the body and the body constitutes in cognition.
Abercrombie states that the human brain plays an active role in shaping the information presented to us, based on one’s past experiences. Kahneman claims that the human mind uses two systems of thinking, System 1 and System 2, where System 2 is more active and effortful than System 1. I attempt to illustrate how Abercrombie and Kahneman's ideal concepts of the perception of reality are applicable to real situations, by referring to the following three readings: Jung’s “The Personal and the Collective Unconscious,” Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” and Andersen’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” The three readings relate to Abercrombie and Kahneman, considering the overlapping concepts of reality, that words and metaphors structure our understanding of what is real, reality can be altered from different perspectives, and that ignorance can actually be bliss.
In the book Metaphors We Live By, authors George Lakoff and Mark Johnson address the traditional philosophic view denouncing metaphor's influence on our world and our selves (ix). Using linguistic and sociological evidence, Lakoff and Johnson claim that figurative language performs essential functions beyond those found in poetry, cliché, and elaborate turns of phrase. Metaphor permeates our daily experiences - not only through systems of language, but also in terms of the way we think and act. The key to understanding a metaphor's effect on behavior, relationships, and how we make sense of our environment, can be found in the way humans use metaphorical language. To appreciate the affects of figurative language over even the most mundane details of our daily activity, it is necessary to define the term, "metaphor" and explain its role in defining the thoughts and actions that structure our conceptual system.
I recently read the book Metaphors We Live By written by Lakoff and Johnson. I had always thought that metaphors, when used to illustrate logical, objective arguments, poetical flourishes, the icing on the cake, the supporting cast but never the star. I'm now convinced otherwise.
Keil, F. C. and Wilson, R. A. (1999) The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences. Cambridge, Massachusetts & London, England: The MIT Press
High level symbolic thought and the formation of equivalence classes, groups of objects that differ in some ways but are the same or very similar in others, may rely on categorical perception (Harnard, 1990). A big part of cognitive psychology seeks to understand how symbols (stored words and images) affect the brain’s organization of information, and categorial perception potentially represents a key part of the upper level cognitive processes that allow humans to conceive of broad
In this part, the writer will point out the importance of the biological and neural foundation of language learning by discussing the following :First, the brain anatomy. Second, l...
“Heightened connectivity in other parts of the brain suggested that readers may experience “embodied semantics,” a process in which brain connectivity during a thought-about action mirrors the connectivity that occurs during the actual action.”(www.theatlantic.com). This study out of Emory University, along with many others, shows that the neuron changes created by reading a book are associated with physical sensation and movement systems in your brain. When reading a word like coffee, the connectivity in the central sulcus in yo...