Metaphor
Metaphor is usually seen as a matter of literature, rather than cognitive theory. But cognitive linguists George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, authors of Metaphors We Live By (1980), changed that when they described metaphor as a deep cognitive process: “a cross-domain mapping in the conceptual system.”
Although I do not discuss metaphor at length in my thesis, learning about metaphor from the cognitive perspective helped to shape my discussion of the ghosts that haunt “The Dead.” I argue that “The Dead” is a ghost story. Others have disagreed, claiming that the ghosts are only metaphors. The more I learned about the role that metaphor plays in perception, the weaker that argument seemed. To learn more, watch James Greary’s excellent TED Talk below, or keep reading.
Traditionally, metaphor is considered a type of analogy, a figure of speech that describes a subject through a comparative claim that it is the same as something otherwise unrelated: “love is a journey.” Metaphoric language (words, phrases, sentences) is seen as the realization of cross-domain mapping. The earlier example “love is a journey” is a conceptual metaphor, and it gives rise to many metaphors found in everyday language. Consider the following description of a romantic relationship:
“They’re at a crossroads, but look at how far they’ve come! It was a long, bumpy road, and they can’t turn back now, even though the relationship is off track, and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.”
The description is full of metaphoric expressions that arise from the larger conceptual metaphor “love is a journey.” Lakoff and Johnson (1980) argue that metaphor is such a powerful conceptual framework that shapes not only our language use but also our thoughts and behavior. Click here to see John Bargh explaining the power of conceptual metaphors and how even unconscious exposure to them can “prime” individuals by influencing perception.
