According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, a metaphor is “a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them.” As a student, the only way in which I have learned or analyzed the use of metaphors is in my writing. That is why, whilst reading “Metaphors We Live By” by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, I was intrigued by the way in which the authors went into detail about how looking deeper into the meaning of metaphors reveals the real weight they carry in our everyday lives and even more so in our ways of thinking and conceptualizing.
In better words, this text describes this seemingly simple figure of speech as, “understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another.” Everything in our lives is connected: we learn on past experiences; we make associations between things we know and don’t know to better understand them. So to think that metaphors are a basis on which people develop their knowledge and on which they think is very sensible.
When I take a step back to reflect, it’s easier to see just how prominent metaphors are in society. An example that was used in Lakoff and Johnson’s text was “argument is war.” Right off the bat, it is easy to refute this statement because we recognize that war is so much greater and so much more destructive in ways than a mere conversational dispute. But in theory, there are many connections between arguments and wars. As Lakoff and Johnson point out, even the way in which we speak about the two ideas is similar. Both arguments and war involve two (or more) parties, a winning side and a losing side, and an issue that caused the fighting to arise. This shows that metaphors influence the way we think, in all types of situations.
The authors also push it further to say that metaphors impact the way we act. Because we associate argument and war, we have similar mannerisms we follow when carrying the two actions out. I really appreciated then how they described it by saying, “imagine a culture where an argument is viewed as a dance, the participants are viewed as performers, and the goal is to perform in a balanced and aesthetically pleasing way.” It is true that we would not consider this situation an argument based on what we think one is. But why do we think that way? I think Lakoff and Johnson described their beliefs in a way that made it easier for the reader to understand their perspective and I enjoyed seeing something so basic as a metaphor in a greater light.
Emily Weiss
02.04.2016
I like how you connected metaphors to our past experiences. I have never realized that since we use things that we have learned from the past to judge situations and make decisions, using metaphors is not much different. Metaphors have been used throughout history in order to compare new ideas or thoughts with previously created concepts. Since we do it subconsciously most of the time, I find it so insightful to learn about things I’ve been doing my whole life without even realizing the cause.
I like your explanation for “Argument is War” that it can be easily refuted. However, argument can be war in a way like Presidents from different countries have an argument, which leads them into war. While I was reading Metaphors We Lived By, the phrase “imagine a culture where an argument is viewed as a dance” also caught my attention. I cannot picture how an argument can be seen as a form of dance. Are the authors referring to how a couple or best friends get back together from a fight?