New metaphors can create new realities

[coberst]

New metaphors can create new realities

 

Lakoff and Johnson, coauthors of “Metaphors we Live By”, speak of a newly arrived Iranian student who had mistaken the constant refrain he heard from other students that “the solution of my problems” meant that they were talking about a metaphor that was unfamiliar to him but sounded very intriguing. This Iranian student was very disappointed when he discovered that these other students were speaking in frustration rather than of a new and wonderful metaphor.

 

He had mistaken this ‘solution of my problems’ was some kind of chemical mixing bowl, “which he took to be a large volume of liquid, bubbling and smoking, containing all of their problems, either dissolved or in the form of precipitates, with catalysts constantly dissolving some problems (for the time being) and precipitating out others.”

 

The authors see this as an accidently developed but marvelous new metaphoric means for viewing problems and their solutions. The normal metaphor for problem solving is usually the puzzle metaphor, ‘problem is puzzle’.

 

This new problem metaphor, ‘problems in solution’, offers a deliciously new and useful slant on the nature of problems and the nature of solving problems in life.

 

‘Problems in solution’ metaphor would entail:

• Problems never completely disappear

• Solving one problem may precipitate another

• Since we have little control of what goes into he pot we constantly find new ones and old ones under another guise

• A catalyst for solving one problem my promote another

• A temporary problem solution may be the most we can hope for

• Problems are part of the natural order of things

 

The ‘problem is puzzle’ metaphor leads us to believe that there is an ultimate right solution whereas the ‘problems in solution’ does not.

 

All this does not mean that it is easy to change metaphors that we live by but it does point up the importance of metaphor and how metaphors affect our world view and our daily mundane existence.

 

Can you think of a new but marvelous metaphor?

 

Can metaphors help save us from our self?

 

Is ‘war on terrorism’ a useful metaphor? For whom is it useful?

[Royston]

All this does not mean that it is easy to change metaphors that we live by but it does point up the importance of metaphor and how metaphors affect our world view and our daily mundane existence.

 

I'm not convinced metaphors affect our (whoever 'our' is) world view, over anything else e.g a policy, scientific theory et.c it's just a method of describing a system. I'd say anaologies are just as important, the ideas and obervations behind a metaphor are what's important, not solely the use of a metaphor.

 

Can metaphors help save us from our self?

 

Rational thinking will help, though I'm not entirely sure what you mean by 'save us from our self', save us from what exactly, there's more than a number of problems in the world, and it's ourselves anyway.

 

Is ‘war on terrorism’ a useful metaphor? For whom is it useful?

 

'War on terrorism' isn't a metaphor, it's a political weapon.

[gcol]

Like the question. Thought provoking. Could be an interesting approach to a critical examination of 'the scientific method. (perhaps it has already been done, under a fancy philosophical title.... probably the ancient greeks

 

I hope your request for new metaphor examples does not lead to a flood of kewlish nonsense, but I fear the worst.

[coberst]

Snail

 

Yes, metaphors are political weapons and they can affect your world view and even they cause some to die and some to kill.

 

Global capitalism is empire.

 

Courtesy of George Soros and his book “Open Society” I shall introduce my new metaphor; ‘global capitalism is empire’.

 

Global capitalism is more extensive than any other empire--the sun never sets on global capitalism--it rules entire civilizations--it is almost invisible and posses no formal structure--it governs those who belong to it and those who do not belong to it are toast--it has a center and a periphery--it is constantly seeking new conquests--the empire generates deep disquiet at the periphery--it is non territorial seeking to always be ‘off-shore’--it turns land, labor, and capital into commodities--it penetrates non economic areas of civilization.

[gcol]

Apparently your question was rhetorical, you have a political axe to grind. No more interest for me.

 

Should be chucked into politics. Nothing scientific, not even pseudo, here.

[Royston]

Snail

 

Yes, metaphors are political weapons and they can affect your world view and even they cause some to die and some to kill.

 

Umm, that isn't what I said though. A good Terry Pratchett story would serve as a metaphor. 'War on terroism', however is a term that's used by slimy politicians, where the definition of terroist has extended to 'somebody who opposes our view'. That isn't metaphorical, it's more a revamped definition, to reinforce some paranoid agenda.

 

Also I'm still not sure why you're putting importance on metaphors, over any other method of portraying a system. They're certainly useful, and sometimes entertaining, but they're nothing without a good observation of the system the metaphor is describing.

 

Should be chucked into politics. Nothing scientific, not even pseudo, here.

 

I'm not sure where this should be chucked...and now I've started yammering on about slimy politicians and the war on terror

[coberst]

Self-actualizing self-learning is Viagra.

[gcol]

Viagra....for those who start what they can't finish.