reader : 张圣熙 time : 2025.3.21 task: chapter 1 and 2

恨如冰

chapter1 :
The central claim of the first chapter is that our ordinary conceptual system is inherently metaphorical. Lakoff and Johnson reject the notion that metaphor is peripheral to language or thought, asserting instead that it is foundational to both. To illustrate this, they analyze the metaphor “ARGUMENT IS WAR”, which permeates everyday expressions:

“Your claims are indefensible.”

“He attacked every weak point in my argument.”

“I demolished his argument.”

These phrases reveal that we do not merely talk about arguments in terms of war; we experience arguments as verbal battles. The metaphor structures our actions (e.g., planning strategies, defending positions) and our understanding of what an argument entails. The authors emphasize that this is not a conscious choice but a cultural convention ingrained in our conceptual framework.

the author further posit that metaphors allow us to “understand and experience one kind of thing in terms of another.” For instance, the metaphor “TIME IS MONEY” (“You’re wasting my time”) reflects how modern industrialized societies quantify and commodify time. Such metaphors are not arbitrary but arise from physical and cultural experiences—in this case, the link between labor, wages, and time.

Critically, the authors argue that metaphors are not reducible to literal language. When we say, “We need to combat inflation,” the word “combat” is not a poetic flourish but a literal expression of how we conceptualize economic phenomena through the lens of conflict. Metaphors, therefore, are conceptual mappings that define reality as we perceive it.

Chapter 2:
Building on the first chapter, this section explores how metaphors form coherent systems that structure entire domains of experience. The authors use “TIME IS MONEY” to demonstrate how a single metaphor generates a network of related expressions:

“This gadget will save you hours.”

“I’ve invested a lot of time in her.”

“You need to budget your time.”

These examples reveal a systematic relationship: time is framed as a finite resource, a valuable commodity, and an entity that can be managed. This coherence stems from cultural practices (e.g., hourly wages) and physical experiences (e.g., the linear progression of time).

Lakoff and Johnson highlight that metaphorical systems highlight certain aspects of a concept while hiding others. For example, the “CONDUIT metaphor” for communication (“It’s hard to get that idea across”) frames language as containers transferring ideas. While this metaphor simplifies communication, it obscures context-dependent meanings, such as how “We need new alternative sources of energy” carries different implications for an oil executive versus an environmentalist.

The authors stress that metaphors are partial, not total. For instance, while “TIME IS MONEY” allows us to quantify time, it fails to capture its irreversibility (“You can’t get your time back”). This partiality enables metaphors to extend into creative or figurative uses, as seen in expressions like “I’ve never won an argument with him” (extending “ARGUMENT IS WAR”).