Re-reading Metaphors We Live By as (1) I am doing computational research about memes and (2) a nice paper from UBC theorizes that memes create meaning through visual metaphors. I want to dig deeper into that school of thoughts so I recall this book, which Dr. Ian Kalman at Fulbright has taught me during my undergraduate.

Some sketchy notes from this read:

  • prefacce: conceptual system is reflected in language. Our method is to look at language and conclude things about the conceptual system, thus how we think.
  • Chap 1: Metaphors are not just how we talk. They’re actually how we think and perceive. They actually forbid certain things to happen. For example, if you live by the metaphor ‘argue is war’, it forbids you to have friendly arguments.
  • Chap 2: “systematicity”?
  • Chap 3: Some metaphors are patial, i.e., the two concepts being matched are not entirely coresspond. E.g., time and money, conduit.
  • Other chaps in the middle: Nuances of how metaphors actually shape our thoughts.
  • Some chap: Comparision between the metaphor framework and other tranditional ways – abstraction and something else.
  • Final chap: (something broader) The experimentialist way to think about how we understand things, which mediates the contrast between objectivism and subjectivism. (Haven’t figured out how they are related to metaphors)

Question for next read: How are those metaphors being created?