On the interaction language-mind-brain: metaphor as embodied simulation
Abstract
Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff & Johnson 1999) provides a coherent and empirically falsifiable explanation which relates very different levels of description: from the linguistic structures we find in everyday language, to the mental structures that motivate them and finally to the brain simulations that ground them. This explanation is closely related to the recent perspective in Cognitive Science known as the “Embodied Cognition Thesis” (e.g., Barsalou 2008). In this way, it could be seen an important step towards the “consilience” of sciences: the union of knowledge coming from different specialized fields in a unified framework of understanding (Wilson 1998), leaving in this way behind the well-known distinction established by C.P. Snow between the “Two Cultures”, the sciences and the humanities. This does not mean that conceptual metaphor theory is free of problems or has reached the maturity stage of other theories. In this work, we provide a critical appraisal of the theory, pointing out some of the issues which should be addressed in future research.Downloads
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