Since its publication, people have used the ideas Lakoff and Johnson proposed to comment on a wide range of topics, from the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States to conspiracy theories. An example of one of the commonly used conceptual metaphors is 'argument is war'.

In George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's work, Metaphors We Live By (1980), we see how everyday language is filled with metaphors we may not always notice. An obvious focal point of Metaphors We Live By, and the idea this essay will attempt to further explicate, is the notion that the title implies: we live. Conceptual metaphors shape not just our communication, but also shape the way we think and act. In Metaphors We Live By, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson give the following definition: The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another (5). Other cognitive scientists, for example Gilles Fauconnier, study subjects similar to conceptual metaphor under the labels ' analogy', ' conceptual blending' and ' ideasthesia'.Ĭonceptual metaphors are seen in language in our everyday lives. Gibbs, Jr., has investigated conceptual metaphor and embodiment through a number of psychological experiments. Some researchers, such as Gerard Steen, have worked to develop empirical investigative tools for metaphor research, including the metaphor identification procedure, or MIP. Since then, the field of metaphor studies within the larger discipline of cognitive linguistics has increasingly developed, with several annual academic conferences, scholarly societies, and research labs contributing to the subject area. The book suggests metaphor is a tool that enables people to use what they know about their direct physical and social experiences to understand more abstract things like work, time, mental activity and feelings.Ĭonceptual metaphor, and a detailed examination of the underlying processes, was first extensively explored in this book. Metaphors We Live By is a book by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson published in 1980. 1980 book by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson Metaphors We Live By

Metaphors we live by