Interpretation concepts and methods

¶ … metaphor has been considered a figure of speech generally used in literary creations in order to make the reader see some of the writer's ideas and visions. However, we could extrapolate this concept to a much higher level and be convinced that the metaphor is also a way of life and a way by which we form associations between our actions and other events in life.

One such example would be the way an argument is almost always described and populated by expressions taken from war and battle. It is only natural that this should be so. One of the most fundamental aspects of our society is the constant fight for supremacy, whether political or economical supremacy, between countries or simple individuals. An argument is also about winning, by nature. As such, expressions such as "using a certain strategy" in an argument or "demolishing arguments" appear to come as natural conceptual metaphors.

In this sense, we may agree on the idea that the conceptual system (that is, the system on which our ideas are founded and which helps with our perception on the world) we, as individuals, use is fundamentally metaphorical. This means, paraphrasing the definition of a metaphor, that we understand a certain experience or idea in terms of or with the help of another.

This may be easier to understand if we look at the way many of our ideas, concepts and perception are formed. Indeed, it is often the case that we arrive at certain conclusions by associating a concept we have no knowledge of and don't understand with one we have previously been acquainted with or are more familiar with. We may thus conclude that "human thought processes are highly metaphorical"

1) Do you find any applicability to your everyday life in the conclusions described previously?

In my opinion, it seems quite obvious that we attempt much of the time to find certain similarities between things we attempt to define and conceptualize and things we actually know. In this sense, following the definition of a metaphor, we may say that everyday life is explained with the help of metaphors for every individual in part.

On the other hand, we should acknowledge the fact that metaphors are not necessarily a learning device, but a way to associate known variables with new things wed are trying to discover. Additionally, we should not give this aspect a general truth: some things can be conceptualized without necessarily using known comparisons.

2) Is there any chance we may have a different perception on things because we tend to use metaphors in our concepts?

In my opinion, this risk may appear due to the fact that we tend to have a chain-like structure in our conceptual thinking. In this sense, everything starts from the base conception we know and evolves, through metaphorical conceptualization, to other ideas and perceptions. The problem resides in the different steps along the conceptualization chain: if any of these comparative descriptions is inaccurate, the final idea or perception will also be wrong.