By Erica Hernandez
Metaphors can unite reason and imagination into our everyday language. These metaphors structure our daily thoughts, speech, and actions. They have even become a way of conceiving information in the thought process of understanding experiences. In Metaphors we live by (1980) by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson the authors describes how often metaphors are kinda of an analogy or symbol, that can also be used as a way to relate to other people. Metaphorical concepts help with understanding of communication, and arguments that are, thus making thoughts more interesting and comprehensible. Showing that not only are metaphors part of our culture basis but that we use them subconsciously.
Of course metaphors can have different meanings to different people, but they create a common understanding. Taking different aspects and effectively applying them to concepts in metaphors can influence individuals. As in “Orientational metaphors give a concept a spatial orientation; for example, happy is up. The fact that the concept HAPPY is oriented up ...”(paragraph 18 Lakoff, Johnson Metaphors We Live By (1980)
This passage describes the concept of happiness and the metaphors by which people understand, and think about happiness. Additionally using up and down as a metaphor of good and bad. The authors make a point that happiness is thought about almost entirely metaphorically because it is an emotional concept.
Metaphor allow us to use the combination of our rational thinking and imaginative thought about something into direct understanding. Without metaphors, these experiences become structure less and therefore incomprehensible. In the passage “Metaphors are halt structure; how we perceive, how we think, and what we do..”(paragraph 4 Lakoff, Johnson Metaphors We Live By(1980) The authors show how metaphors are often based on introspection or intuition from ones personal thoughts, readings and experiences. Recognizing