The reason why I choose to read Metaphors We Live By

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Metaphors We Live By is a classic of contemporary linguistics, co-authored by George Lakoff, founder of cognitive linguistics, and Mark Johnson, one of the founders of experiential philosophy. This book systematically studies metaphor from the perspective of cognitive linguistics for the first time, and puts forward the "conceptual metaphor theory", which holds that metaphor is not only a rhetorical device in language, but also an important way of thinking and cognition, and a basic way of human survival.
The reasons for choosing this book are manifold. First, the title, Metaphors We Live By, is fascinating. Before reading it, it was hard to imagine that metaphor could be so important that it could be described as "living by." This contrast provokes an intense curiosity about the role metaphors play in human life.
Second, the book provides us with a new perspective that allows us to revisit language and thinking from a theoretical level. Traditionally, metaphor is often seen as a rhetorical technique in literature, but Lakoff and Johnson point out that metaphor is everywhere, it permeates our everyday language, thinking, and behavior. Through reading this book, we can discover linguistic phenomena that we never notice in our daily life, such as metaphorical expressions such as "time is money" and "argument is war", which not only shape our language, but also profoundly affect our cognition and behavior.
In addition, the book challenges the traditional objectivist and subjectivist semantic views, and puts forward the "empirical semantic view", emphasizing the central role of human experience and cognitive ability in the construction of language meaning. This view not only overturns the previous cognition, but also provides a new way for us to understand the relationship between language and thought.
In short, Metaphors We Live By is not only a linguistic classic, but also a book that helps us to re-understand the relationship between language, thought and cognition. With a unique perspective and profound theory, it reveals for us the indispensable role of metaphor in human life, and is a book worth reading and thinking deeply.