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?

[cdn2wheeler]

I like this. I've been accused more than once of thinking and speaking in metaphors because that's the way I make sense of things.

Originally Posted by coberst

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

It's useful to the current Administration as a means to keep the level of anxiety high. That means passing of bills such as the infamous Patriot Act, the extraordinary funnelling of resources to the military and associated suppliers and mercenaries, and as justification for developing extra-constitutional powers such as illegal wiretaps and the like.

My own personal metaphor: Life is an onion ring. Frankly, I have no idea what it means.

[Rose of Cairo]

Originally Posted by cdn2wheeler

It's useful to the current Administration as a means to keep the level of anxiety high. That means passing of bills such as the infamous Patriot Act, the extraordinary funnelling of resources to the military and associated suppliers and mercenaries, and as justification for developing extra-constitutional powers such as illegal wiretaps and the like.

Will you marry me??

[coberst]

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.

[Dharma]

Originally Posted by coberst

Can metaphors help save us from our self?

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

If you can see how the war on terror relates to your own day-to-day life, then yes it is useful. If you use it to hunker down around a point of victimization, then terrorism, as a metaphor, is useless.

On edit. Same thing with 'global capitalism is empire'. Where do I buy and sell myself (metaphorically) to exert control on myself? And that's just the top level or outer skin. Money and the financial system is a whole other set of metaphors that are useful to see in oneself.

[Lola]

Originally Posted by coberst

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

And how about this one - mixing disparate ingredients, things that singularly may not be appealing, creates a new, fabulously blended result that would never have been realized otherwise.

[coberst]

Self-actualizing self-learning is Viagra.