How Does Lakoff And Johnson Use Metaphors

In “Concepts We Live By,” George Lakoff and Mark Johnson define metaphor as being not solely relegated to language, but as being present in all other aspects of our lives as well: “Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature”(Lakoff and Johnson 4). They believe that people use metaphors not just through intellectual and conscious outlets, but that metaphors dictate how we perceive everything. Because metaphors structure our conception of the world around us, they hold an intrinsic power; the power to shape our perceptions and even our behavior. That is to say, because of the prodigious amount of influence that metaphors hold, they are not confined merely to shaping our awareness
According to Lakoff and Johnson arguing, as our culture views it, is all about achieving victory. The gist of argument is war is that those participating in the argument are attempting to dissuade the other(s) of their claim because they view it as false. They are in the right, and the other person(s) must be shown their erroneous ways. If culture were to embrace the belief that argument is dance, then the sole purpose of arguing would be to perform in an aesthetically pleasing manner. It would be a culture that privileges art and beauty over facts. Therefore one can conclude that nothing could be considered fallacious and nothing could be considered valid. The only way one could be considered wrong is if they were to give an ugly performance, in which case their partner would also be wrong since they failed to work harmoniously together. Ethically and morally speaking, all opinions and beliefs would hold merit only for the beauty brought about by their presentation. Their implications would hold no merit beyond that. Subscribing to argument is dance would eventually lead to the breakdown of language. If there are no facts then nothing is absolute, or even probable. From this one can conclude that endorsing the metaphor argument is dance would strip all words of their power and their definitions would mean
Just what these lines are is by no means obvious. One way to find out is by looking at language” (Lakoff and Johnson 4). We are limited by what we know. The aphorism knowledge is power is an apt one when delving into studying why people gravitate towards habituation. Whether in how we go about our day, or how we think, talk, etc. we follow routines: “Primarily on the basis of linguistic evidence, we have found that most of our ordinary conceptual system is metaphorical in nature” (Lakoff and Johnson 4). This conceptual system or frame of mind keeps people running along the same track. They follow the path precisely round and round and go exactly nowhere. Through the logic of Lakoff and Johnson, the invisibility of metaphors hinders people. Only by making people cognizant of the prevalence of their own patterns of thinking can they direct their own path. Making metaphors visible would empower those with the understanding to choose their own