Metaphors in the Brain

Metaphors in the Brain

Types of Metaphors

Poetic metaphors: Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon. Everyday metaphors: FTSE bruised by oil firms…(BBC)

Contemporary Theory of Metaphor: George Lakoff

Metaphors rely on concepts

Traditional thought is that metaphors are strictly in the domain of language. However, our conceptual system, which is a key system of cognitive functioning, is heavily implicate in the use of metaphors. Lakoff argues that our conceptual system is metaphoric in nature.

Metaphors rely on concepts

For example, take the metaphor “Argument is war”

We don’t just talk about arguments this way, this can relate to behavior as well. In an argument many of the actions taken are partially structured by the concept of war. The structure of an argument can involve attack, defense, etc.

Imagine instead using the metaphor of dance instead of war in an argument How would this change behavior?

Metaphors

Metaphors are not just restricted to language. Lakoff argues that all of human thought is metaphorical.

Contemporary Theory of Metaphor

There is a concrete source, and an abstract target. Example: His idea is half-baked. That is a lot of information to digest.

• The source domain is concrete, experience based. Half-baked and digest both apply to food
• The target domain is abstract. The speaker here is thinking, and the listener is understanding

Metaphors aren't always accurate

For example, we think of language in terms of the conduit metaphor Ideas are objects. Linguistic expressions are containers, and communication is sending...

Limits of the conduit metaphor

Linguistic expressions are containers for meaning implies that words and sentences have meanings in themselves, independent of the context of the speaker. Meanings are objects – meanings have an existence independent of people and contexts. For example, “The meaning is right there in the words”.

Limits of the conduit metaphor

However, there are some sentences that have no meaning without context.

• “Please sit in the apple juice seat”.

• Come down for breakfast at a table set with different drinks in front of each seat.

Some sentences mean different things to different people. The conduit metaphor doesn’t account for this.

Orientation Metaphors

Most have to do with spatial orientation: up/down, in/out, front/back mimics how our bodies relate to physical space. Different in different cultures: In some cultures the future is in front of us. In other cultures, the future is behind us. Example: Happy is associated with up, sad is associated with down Example: Conscious is up, unconscious is down

Why study metaphors?

Metaphors make up 1 in every 25 words that we use, and roughly 20% of our communication. Involves semantic memory, and the organization of concepts.

Metaphors are embodied

Neuroimaging studies show sensory motor activations during metaphor comprehension. Reading tactile metaphors (rough day) or taste metaphors (a sweet girl) activate the corresponding sensory regions for touch and taste.

Metaphors are embodied

Participants were given language comprehension tasks. This figure shows modality specific knowledge processing for 38 different imaging studies

How are abstract concepts embodied?

Time is motion

Time is space

Time is money

Lai & Desai 2016

Metaphoric language about time relies on regions implicated in space and motion. Showed participants different metaphors about time, where time is used in terms of space and motion:

Lai & Desai 2016

Found activation in the primary motor cortex, premotor cortex, visual motion areas, and in the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS). The pSTS is a highly multifunctional area implicated in biological motion and animacy. This is consistent with the idea that time is moving…

When does metaphoric embodiment occur?

When does the sensorimotor recruitment occur during the comprehension of metaphoric expression? Are the verbs in metaphoric context comprehended in their concrete sense first? If this occurs early, then this would support the idea that concrete, bodily experiences are necessary in understanding abstract meaning. If this occurs late, then the activation of these areas is epiphenomenal – they don’t contribute at all to using metaphors for understanding

Lai et al (2019)

Stimuli: Metaphoric – The church bent the rules. Literal-concrete – The bodyguard bent the rod. Literal-abstract – The church altered the rules.

Lai et al (2019)

Results are in line with the “literal first” view: Literal concrete meaning is accessed first and metaphoric meaning is computed only if the retrieved literal concrete meaning is rejected.

Why do we need metaphors?

Expression and Regulation

Why do we need metaphors?Expression

They allow us to express the inexpressible:Fainsilber & Ortorny (1987) asked participants to free-recall an emotional situation, and answer: What did you feel about it? What did you do about it?Participants used more metaphors for describing feelings than actions. Levorato & Caccciari (2002) asked 100 adults to “create new ways of thinking” for 9 emotions and 9 actions. They used more figurative language for emotion than for action

Why do we need metaphors?Regulation

Metaphor use is therapeutic: Angus (1992) looked at client-therapist transcriptions. They found that clients that used more metaphors during sessions had lower depression scores post treatment. Metaphor enhances mood and alleviates depression (Fetterman et al., 2016) Participants wrote about negative emotions for 5 minutes each day. Some were instructed to use metaphors, others were instructed to use literal language. The group that used metaphors also had reduced depressive symptoms

• It’s hard to get that idea across to him
• I gave you that idea
• Your reasons came through to us
• Its difficult to put my ideas into words

Action knowledge: activates primary and secondary sensorimotor regions

Auditory knowledge: activates areas near auditory association cortex

• Get up
• Wake up
• I’m up already
• He rises early in the morning
• He fell asleep
• He dropped off to sleep
• He’s under hypnosis
• He sank into a coma

Color knowledge: activates the fusiform gyrus near color-selective regions of the visual cortex

Motion knowledge: activates temporal regions near visual motion processing areas

• That boosted my spirits
• My spirits rose
• You are in high spirits
• Im feeling down
• Im depressed
• He’s really low these days
• I fell into a depression

• We are approaching finals. (speaker is moving)
• Finals are approaching. (time is moving)

Reasoning about time along a horizontal axis in Mandarin:

• Last week: front a week.
• Next week: back a week.

Reasoning about time along a vertical axis in Mandarin:

• Last week: up a week.
• Next week: down a week.

People would view arguments differently, experience them differently, carry them out differently and talk about them differently.It would be strange to even call it an argument still. This is how metaphors structure how we think and act

• Your wasting my time.
• This gadget will save you hours.
• How did you spend your time yesterday?
• The flat tire cost me an hour.
• He’s living on borrowed time.
• You are not using your time profitably.
• Invest your time wisely.

• Your claims are indefensible
• He attacked every weak point in my argument
• His criticisms were right on target
• I demolished his argument
• I’ve never won an argument with him
• You disagree? Okay shoot!
• If you use that strategy, he’ll wipe you out He shot down all of my arguments